Sword Art Online: Together Til The End
by SeaKArt
Summary: What would happen if Kirito and Asuna met in the beginning and decided to stay together through the entire story? Wonder no more! Are you ready to dive into the story of Kirito and Asuna from Floor 1, to Floor 100?
1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

Hello and welcome to my new Fan Fiction!

This will be my first LONG term project I will be attempting! In the past, I have been disappointed when Fan Fictions stopped their progression, but that will not happen to this one! This story will have every single floor incorporated in it. Either a Boss raid, or a side story.

This is a continuation of ColtonTheSwordsman's work. He created a very promising story, but it ended abruptly, so I am continuing his work!

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Sword Art Online Franchise...**

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 100: Ruby Palace**

 **Location: Outside Gate**

 **Time: 15:00**

The clouds filled the air up above them.

Kirito dreamed about this moment for 3 years now. The moment when he could have a rematch against the one person who put them through this hell. The man responsible for making Kirito bow down to him. The man who was responsible for all 4,000 deaths so far.

Kayaba Akihiko.

Kirito led the small group of players who survived the 99th Floor Boss. They raiding party was full, with 60 players. They all left the Boss Room with only 24 players left. The best players in the game, and most of them were slaughtered before Kirito's eyes.

"Its okay," Asuna hummed in his ear as she gave his hand a slight squeeze. "We will be alright."

Kirito looked over at his wife, and saw her loving smile. He couldn't help but smile back at her, but he didn't mean it. Ever since that day Heathcliff had challenged Kirito to a 1 on 1 duel, Kirito had been regretting his decision of declining it. Cringing at the memory, he pushed away the thoughts as he rallied the Clearers one final time.

"Alright guys. I know that Raid was tough, but we have no time for grieving. They will understand, and we have all awaited this moment. There are players who have been relying on us." Kirito said as he looked around, looking into the eyes of each player. Before he continued, he gave Asuna's hand one more squeeze. "We cannot, and will not stop now. The final Boss lies ahead. Lets make him pay for the 3 years of hell he has put us all through!" Kirito cheered, earning cheers from only a few other players.

Kirito turned around and led them further into the Ruby City, skipping all the vendors and just rushing straight to the Ruby Palace.

 _One final battle... One final Boss..._

Asuna realized what he was thinking, and spoke up.

"Hey, sweety. We will be fine." Asuna tried to cheer up her stubborn husband. "Just think, once this is over, we can go back to the Real World... Where we promised I promised I would find you again."

Kirito couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, I can finally fulfill that promised I made to you, in the beginning."

"Yeah," Asuna spoke while reminiscing on their 3 years together. She remembered all those quirky moments, and those fights that were meaningful at the time, but now seemed irrelevant.

More time flew by as they approached the Ruby Palace, where they all saw a Notification sign on the door.

" ' _Dear Players!_ ' " Kirito started to read the message. " " _I wish to congratulate you all on your remarkable work on clearing 99 Floors! Although I wouldn't mind the challenge of facing 60 players at once, I must refrain to a 1 on 1 Battle. You of course understand why I would appreciate this?' "_ Kirito finished reading before turning around to look back at the players.

"I'll go," Kirito spoke out.

"No," Asuna said immediately. Not even caring to hear his usual speech.

"Yeah, Asuna-san is right, you have done more than enough for us over these past 3 years. It is time for one of us to return the amount of favors we owe you," one player spoke out. Kirito learned over time to give in to some of the players requests. Kirito was too focused on his own thoughts, that he didn't even notice another player enter the Palace, alone.

"Hey," Asuna said as she put a hand on his cheek. Noticing his worries, she knew she had to put him at ease. She pressed her lips gently against his, before pulling back, letting him catch his breath. "Everything will be alright."

Immediately after she said that, the doors to the Ruby Palace opened, with a smiling Healthcliff in the doorway, only muttering one simple word:

"Next..."

* * *

 **Real World**

 **Date: November 6th, 2022**

 _3 Years Ago..._

The news for the past few days consisted of one and only one thing. The official release of the MMO, Sword Art Online. Kazuto, lately has been restless due to waiting to finally be able to play the game once more. After they had announced the official release, the beta became closed, making it so he had nothing to do but pass time.

The time read '12:57'. _Three more minutes_. Kazuto thought to himself. Ever since he played the beta, he had been absorbed in the world. The floating castle of Aincrad had become his scapegoat. Whenever things got rough with his family, and little to no friends, he would turn his attention to the castle. All that changed a week ago when the beta closed.

He was forced out of his room to "socialize".

Bull shit, was all he could muster from it. He turned to gaming for a reason. To escape from that reality. After getting lost in thought, he didn't notice the time as it struck '1:00'.

His head snapped to his nerve gear. He reached for it and plugged it in. Once he was finally in a position where he could be comfortable enough, he put it on. He reminisced when he had it last on. He took one last look at his ceiling, before closing his eyes.

Smiling he said, "LINK START!"

A few seconds passed before it asked for his Username and Password. Eagerly putting in all his information in, an option came up into his sights asking if he wanted to used his character name and gender that he used in the beta. He thought to himself for a second before agreeing to keep it easy on him self.

His username read, "Kirito".

Happy with that he was appeared in his old reality. His appearance was randomly generated so that he did not look like he would of in real life. He was about a half a foot taller, and his hair was blue rather than black. He opened his eyes to his old reality.

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 1: City of Beginnings**

He looked down at his hands, before making two fists, saying "I'm back... to this world!" Kirito was too absorbed to notice all around him players started to appear one after another, before he was 1 out of a few hundred.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed, he raced out of the starting city to get a head start on the game. He ran past people who was staring in amazement at their surroundings. As he was weaving his way through everyone, he occasionally bumped into a few people, making him grunt a short apology before continuing on his marry way.

As he reached the booths of shops that were run by NPC's for now, he noticed a lot pf players starting to converse with each other. _Let them get along_. He thought to himself. That made him want to get away faster. Making him run a bit quicker.

As he passed by a small group of people, one of them looked Kirito's way. The man muttered a slight 'gotta go' and hurried after Kirito.

"HEY!" the man yelled after Kirito, but it took Kirito a few seconds until he noticed that the man was talking to him. Slowing to a stop, Kirito turned his head slightly and looked into the strangers eyes.

Kirito, confused looked away for a split second before returning the strangers gaze. He turned his body fully to the man before saying, "Can I help you?"

"Ah- Ah-Yes!" He said before putting a hand to the back of his head before continuing. The mans hair was red while he had a red bandanna tied around his head. The two were about the same height. "Call me rude for saying this, but the way you moved told me instantly you were part of the beta. Am I right?"

Kirito hesitated for a second, thinking to himself if he should be discussing this anyone. But he made a quick judgement that he shouldn't worry about it, seeing as how the beta was now closed. "Yes, I was."

"Thought so!" the man yipped. Startling Kirito a bit, that and a few players who were passing by. "The names Klein by the way." he said approaching Kirito, putting a hand on his shoulder before continuing. "I am new to this game, mind showing me the basics?"

Kirito was uncomfortable by the sudden contact, even if it were only a game. He was quick to continue by agreeing, making Klein jump in glee.

After introducing himself he lead Klein out of the starting town on into the first field of the game...

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 1: Outside Starting Town**

 **Time Skip: 20 minutes**

After a bit of Kirito teaching Klein all about letting the system do the skill, he started to show Klein some of his moves. Picking up a rock, he held still for a split second before firing it from his hands. The rock shot like a bullet, hitting the boars back-side. Angering the boar, it charged Kirito, pulling out his **Iron Sword** , he dodged the boars attack with ease. it turned, stamping its feet, it charged once more. His blade turned a light blue, alerting Kirito that his skill **Slash** was activated. He took off in a blur and hit the boars side, leaving a red gash in the boars side.

The boars health dipped into the red zone. Klein took this opportunity. He readied his short sword and armed a **Slash** like Kirito has taught and demonstrated. Klein finished the boar in one hit. The boar shattered into particles, signaling the system to respawn a new.

"Phew," Klein panted while looking at the time. He established that it was time for him to log off, seeing as how it was time for him to get a mouth full of pizza. "I should probably log off," he said while sending Kirito a friend request. He hesitated for a second before accepting it.

"Alright, I'll see you later. But if I were you, I would log off in town. Seeing as how you don't want to spawn in a field of monsters."

"Understandable. Alright man, I'll see ya." Klein said, walking off back to where he once came from. In that time, Kirito inspected his stats.

In the time he was teaching Klein, he managed to level up to level 2. _Great._ He thought to himself. _Another 30 then I'll be caught up to my level in the bet-_ his thoughts were interrupted by a girls scream. Kirito's head perked up to where the noise had come from.

In the distance, he saw a girl being ganged up by a pack of wolves. Seeing this, Kirito took action. He sprinted towards the girl while drawing his **Iron Sword** in the process. He activated **Slash** while he was running. Leaping into the air, he slashed down one of the wolves in one swoop. Where Kirito got this surge of adrenaline, he did not know, but he used it to his advantage.

As Kirito worked, the girl was on the ground due to falling over in shock from the sudden assistance. She looked up at her savior to see him getting thrown around by the wolves. She drew Her **Rapier** and tried to help out. She charged up her skill **Stab** and attacked one of the last three wolves remaining. After a few minutes of them getting thrown around, Kirito managed to kill off the rest of the pact by using **Slash** over and over.

After the last one shattered into particles, he stood up. Amazed that they were able to handle a small pack of wolves. He walked over the the girl and noticed her struggling to get up. Grabbing her arm, he helped her stand up straight. In this time he noticed she had brow hair that was tied back into a pony-tail. She was a lot shorter than Kirito originally expected her to be.

"That was dumb!" she yelled at him. "You could of gotten your self hurt!"

Kirito was a bit shocked at this. Seeing as how he was the one who was helping her by keeping her away from the pack. "You are joking right?" Kirito rebutted.

"Yes of course!" she said sticking out her tongue. All he did was roll his eyes and smiled. "Thank you," she said at last. She then looked up to him and said while bowing her head, "My name is Asuna! Thank you again for saving me."

"You are welcome Asuna-san," he said looking at the sun that started to set. "My name is Kirito, a pleasure."

He extended his hand, she looked at it for a second, before finally accepting it. "Kirito...-kun was it?" he nodded slightly and she continued. "I really do appreciate the help. But it is getting late, so I should log out. I hope we can be friends though!"

Kirito opened his menu and sent her a friend request. He then said, "Yeah I should log out too, my family is probably preparing dinner." He said tapping the options button.

"Hey- Kirito-kun. I don't see the 'Log Out' button. Do you?" She asked curiously.

After tapping the options, he noticed the same thing. His eyes opened in shock. "I don't see it either, Asuna-san."

"Perhaps a glitch?" She questioned, fearing Kirito's answer.

"No, not a glitch. I was part of the beta, and then obviously there was a 'Log Out' button. It even has a spot for it and all. But this seems like it was removed purposefully."

"So what you are saying is this SUPPOSE to happen?" She asked with a bit of fear behind her voice.

All he was able to mutter was a 'yeah' before both him and Asuna were both teleported back to the Starting Town.

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Starting Town**

 **Time: 17:20**

As soon as Kirito's body stopped glowing, he noticed he was not the only one that had been forced back to the starting point of the game. All around him people showed up one after another before he was one of almost 10,000. He looked to his left and noticed Asuna was standing at his side, looking up at the sky.

Curious at what she was looking at, he too turned his attention to the sky, realizing that a red 'WARNING' sign appeared. As he looked at it, it started to expand until they were completely surrounded by the sign. At this people started to mutter among themselves all curious at what they were witnessing.

"Kirito-kun," Asuna said while grabbing his elbow. She pointed to the spot in the sky that started to turn a darker shade of red. Soon enough, it started to fall into the new dome that had been created. After a few seconds it started to form a giant avatar that read 'Immortal Object' at the top of it.

"Welcome!" it began. "I want to welcome you all to Sword Art Online! But lets skip right to the chase shall we?" It said swiping down its own menu. "As some of you have already discovered, there is no 'Log Out' option. As some of you may think it is a bug in the program, I want to assure you, it is not. It is officially part of the Sword Art Online experience!"

"Experience...?" Kirito muttered to himself. All around him people started to begin to worry about what he ha meant. Say things like, "What does he mean?" , "He's saying we can't leave the game?" "Why?"

"-When your HP hits 0, electromagnetic pulses will be transmitted from the nerve gear on your head, and be set into your brain, causing a painless death. To sum up, if you die in this game, your avatar will be destroyed, and you will die in the real world." A small cry was let out somewhere behind Kirito. He wasn't bothered by this and continued looking at the GM.

"As of now, 213 players have died in this world, and so has their real bodies," he paused pulling up news alerts and papers. Proving his point. "And to answer many questions starting to form, anyone in the real world will not be able to remove it from your head, due to many people already trying." He stopped again to show more reports.

"The reason for this," it began again. "Is because I have already accomplished my original goal for creating this game."

"Created?" Kirito began. After saying that, Kirito's eyes widened in realization. "Then he is...!"

"Yes, I am Kayaba Akihiko. The soul creator of Sword Art Online. I made this game for my own personal enjoyment, meaning I have no other meaning in my life now. So now that that is all cleared up, I have given you all a gift that now resides in all of your inventories." he paused allowing everyone a moment to exclaim their inventory.

Kirito drew his open and found a 'Mirror' in it.

"A mirror?" Kirito said looking in it seeing his avatar. After a few seconds, everyone then had theirs in their hands. Kirito looked back to Kayaba, before he heard a squeal coming from Asuna's direction.

"Asuna!" he looked over to her to find her enveloped in a blue light. Soon after everyone including himself to be enveloped in one of their own. Everyone glowed for a few seconds before everyone finally stopped shimmering. He was finally able to see Asuna after being blinded for a few seconds.

Asuna was no longer there, instead she was replaced with someone who was a bit taller, yet more beautiful. She had chestnut colored hair and eyes, and her hair flowed down to the center of her back. She looked over at Kirito and let out a faint gasp.

"Who are you?" She asked him. Kirito, who still had the mirror in his hand looked into it and realized he looked like he did in real life. His hair changed from a blue back to a black, yet his eyes remained the same color.

"I look the same as I do in real life!" he exclaimed. His eyes widened in realization. He looked back over at the girl and said,

"That means you're Asuna-san!"

"Then you're Kirito-kun!" her eyes were just as wide as Kirito's was. "How do we look like we do in real life?" She said with shock in her voice.

"The Nerve gear covers our entire head and face, so it has a rough idea of our face features, as for out height and over parts, we had to do a calibration when we first get the piece."

"Why is he doing this?" Asuna asked, with fear clearly in her voice.

"I think he is about to answer that question."

"You may be asking yourselves why? It is because, as I said before, I have no more reason to live. I have accomplished all I have wanted to do, by creating this floating castle. Now to answer the more IMPORTANT question. The only way to officially complete the game is by completing each dungeon and boss on each floor. Once accomplished, the next floor will be available to everyone. Beat each boss on each floor till you get to the 100th, and might I add, last floor. Once that boss is complete, the game will be considered 'Complete' allowing everyone to successfully log out."

"I figured as much..." Kirito said to himself. Processing all the information that was being thrown at him. Unlike everyone else, he was able to handle it better then everyone else was.

"I wish you all good luck! And we shall meet later...!" Kayaba said at last before seeping back the way he came.

A few minutes passed while everyone finally realized just how screwed they are. Kirito looked into the mirror one final time before it shattered in his hands. With that, everyone started panicking. Some people were slouched over while other people were hitting the walls. Kirito grabbed Asuna's hand and began to ran, saying 'Come on!'

She was at first resistant at this before finally going with him.

They ran for a few minutes until they were in an alleyway away from all the chaos.

Kirito looked into her frightened eyes and said, "I know you are in shock. But this isn't the time. I need to leave. It is more important than ever to get a head start on this game by leveling and completing limited quests." He started looking away from her eyes. "The next town is a ways away, so I should be going. I suggest you do the same," he finished and started to turn away.

"Wait," she said in an almost whisper. She grabbed his wrist stopping his movement. "If this is a death-game now I think it is important if we stay- together," she finished looking at his hand.

Kirito looked back at the road ahead of them. He thought about it for a minute. Normally he would of said no to anyone, but considering the circumstances, and the way she used her Rapier, he saw potential in her.

"Alright." he said at last. "But we need to get a move on. There is a limited amount of quests right now because its the start of the game. I know a few that rewards some good weapons. Seeing as how this is now a fight for our lives, we need the head start."

All she did was nod once, refusing to let go of his hand. For some reason, he wasn't bothered by the touch. _Its because of the pain she is in._ He decided that was the once reason for being this nice to her.

"Come on, I think we better go."

She nodded once more and he took off with her hand in his. After he knew she had enough momentum, he let go of her hand, racing to the next town.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

There we have it! The first chapter of many. I know most of it was in the first episode, but I didn't want to skip it, and I knew I wanted this to be when they first met. Another thing, is this will be a long term project, maybe like 100+ chapters and such. And as Colton had his fanfic, I will have a few chapters per floor. Plus some side stories and such.

Expect the updates to be once a week. But when school picks up, probably once every 2 weeks.


	2. Realizations

**Author's Note:**

I just wanted to clear up something real quick.

I am aware of some people out there thinking I have copied the beginning part of another story called 'Partners', and I understand the confusion. But I have not read that story. I apologize if you do not believe me, but that is the truth behind the matter. In the previous chapter I forgot to mention that I am continuing his work for a friend. That friend was upset when it was ended so soon, so I am writing this in an attempt to sooth everyone who was rendered upset.

Also, as this story progresses, the length of the chapters will increase, the last chapter is an acceptation, because it was the 'Prologue' in a sense. I appreciate people who leave reviews telling me my mistakes. It helps me improve, so don't be bashful!

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online, though I wish I did, I sadly do not...**

Also note that from here on out, the story will be different from the actual story. Expect the major events like the first floor boss, the 74th, Heathcliff, ect.

* * *

 **Real World**

 **Just after news broke about Sword Art Online**

Sugu's Kendo instructor heard about the Sword Art Online incident from a phone call made by his wife. When he took the call, he stepped outside for a few minutes to process the information. Since he knew almost all of his trainee's personally, he called Sugu outside because he once knew her older brother Kazuto once.

"Suguha," he began lightly. Fearing the worst, he continued regardless. "Doesn't Kazuto play MMO's?"

"Uh- Yeah he does. Before I left, he was about to play the new one that just came out. Sw-Sword Art Online." She answered with her head slightly tilted. "Why?"

He swallowed back his built up saliva before answering, "Because news broke this afternoon that that game has trapped players in the game," he finished before placing a comforting hand on her shoulder before breaking the worse of the news. "And so far, over 300 players that dived into the game have... died."

Sugu's eyes immediately widened in fear. _Onii-chan_. She thought.

"Apparently the creator has made it that if you were to die in the game... you die... in real life..." he finished gently. Knowing she would want to rush home to check on her older sibling, he continued. "If you want to go back to your house to check on your brother... you may leave right now."

She didn't even look or respond to him, she turned around immediately and went back inside to gather her stuff, before rushing out of the doors once more.

Once she was out of her Sensei's sight, she took off down the street as fast as her feet could possibly take her. When she neared her house she slowed to a stop to where she could see in side his room. Hoping that she could see him in the window as she would always see him.

Reaching in the bag to grab her keys, she realized that the door was already unlocked. _Mother!_ she thought. She dropped her bag at the bottom of the stairs and nearly tripped on her way up the stairs to get to her brothers room. As she reached for the door, she heard sirens in the distance, fearing the worst she opened the door to see her mother crying over the bed.

Finally the tears caught up to her. Her eyes watered silently, and she gently walked over to the bed.

"Mom," she said tears flying freely.

Her mothers eyes wouldn't leave her sons hands as she held his wrist, constantly feeling the slight _Bump Bump!_ of his pulse. Sniffling, Sugu's mother looked up from him with tears clenched in the corners of her eyes.

"He- he's still al-ive Sugu," she started while wiping away the tears in her eyes. "The ambulance is on its way to take him to a hospital outside of the city," her breathing settling she continued. "Apparently they are taking many vi-victims there to be- be monitored."

"Mom," she breathed again, tears starting back again at the sight of her own mother crying. After another few minutes, the paramedics came into the room with few machines that they started to hook up to Kazuto.

All Sugu was able to do was sit at his chair, looking to his unconscious face, and cry for her brothers survival.

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Just Outside of the Starting Town**

 **Time: 18:07**

Almost an hour after the official announcement that Sword Art Online had become a death-game, Kirito showed Asuna a lot of the basics. They fought wolves with a switch-method. At first Asuna had no clue what it was, but she learned very quickly.

Kirito was originally worried about Asuna. After traveling with her for a bit, he had learned that Sword Art Online was her first MMO she has ever played. But needless to say, she had picked up everything he had been teaching her very quickly. Before he had started to teach her, he figured out that she had already learned how to activate her skills, which was a load off on Kirito's behalf, remembering how long it took Klein to learn it.

 _Much faster, and much better than Klein._ He thought to himself with a slight chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Asuna turned her head slightly away from the wolf she was facing.

"Nothing," he assured, scolding himself for making her distracted. She fought proudly with her **Iron Rapier _._** The wolf she was facing quickly pounced on her while she was momentarily distracted, but Asuna, who was quick on her feet, activated **Sprint** and quickly dodged the attack while countering with a **Stab.** The wolf fell into the 'Red Zone', noticing this, Asuna quickly shouted,

"Switch with me, Kirito-kun!"

Kirito snapped out of his thoughts and lunged with his **Iron Sword,** hitting the wolf, it dropped down to 0 HP and shattered. Kirito snapped his sword to the side, then placed it in its sheath carefully. He looked back to the starting town and noticed people had finally snapped out of their trances and realized, like Kirito did, that they needed to get a head start on the game if they wanted to survive. The Duo had traveled for about a half hour, so it would take a bit before they would catch up to Kirito and Asuna.

"Asuna-san," Kirito said, noticing her put her Rapier away. "I think we should go. People are starting to come out of their trances, and if we want to make sure we get decent weapons, I think we better get going." He said, while pointing his hand at the crowd of people exiting Starting Town.

Asuna looked to the group of people walking out of town. She starred for a few seconds before returning her attention back at Kirito. "Alright, I think we got enough XP to safely get to the next town without any issue."

"Yeah," he said opening up his Menu, in the time they had been farming for some XP and Col, he rose to level 4, and had acquired 629 Col. Satisfied with his progress, he walked back onto the main path, and broke out into a sprint. After a few seconds, Asuna activated her **Sprint** ability and quickly caught up to Kirito.

The two of them traveled for a solid 20 minutes before they were on the outskirts of the next town, Hanvanah. The town was medium in size. It broke into two roads on the other side, one led to a few shops, while the other led to an Inn. From the beta, Kirito knew that there were a total of 4 dungeons on this floor. All he remembered about all four dungeons, is that the one that held the Boss, was just past another town called Tolbana.

But from what he remembered, it took Kirito much longer to find the town than it was to find Hanvanah. Kirito started to slow to a stop before reaching the town. He turned to Asuna and told her that they had a bit of a head start. Which for some strange reason, made Kirito a little happier than it should have.

Walking into town, he showed Asuna a few markets that would be useful for buying potions, and some supplies that would help them in their early journey. He told Asuna that for now NPC's run the shops, but players can take over and sell their own items and loot they get from boss and monster drops.

"I didn't know you could trade and sell items your self!" Asuna said in shock.

"Well yeah, if you need the Col and space in your inventory, you sell it for some extra Col. I had a friend in the beta who had a little shop and she got quite a bit of Col from doing so." Kirito explained. "That way," Kirito said, pointing to a town further off. "Is where we will be going in a bit. There is a lot of hotels where we can stay the night for some cheap Col."

Asuna listened to him ramble patiently before asking the question that has been bothering her for a bit. "Say Kirito-kun. Why were you in such a rush to get to this town. I mean, it wasn't for the best hotel room was it?"

Kirito laughed at this. "Of course not. There is a quest in this town for a good blade. Someone in the beta told me about it, but when I went to check it out, I figured out it was a limited quest. So needless to say I wanted to be the first here to ensure I would get it," he said finishing explaining his reasoning for rushing them out of the Starting Town.

"Ah." Was all Asuna said.

"Don't worry Asuna-san," Kirito assured. "We will find you a good Rapier that would make your **Iron Rapier** attack like a tooth pick," he said laughing a bit.

"HEY!" she yelled, startling Kirito. "This _toothpick_ saved your ass earlier!" she tried to sound as frightening as she could when she said 'ass' but that only make him laugh harder. "Ass," she repeated blushing a bit.

After a few minutes Kirito calmed down and assured her, "Hey, don't feel bad," his tone changed to serious once more. "Right now we need all the strength we can possibly muster."

"You are right Kirito-kun. Lets go get that Sword, and after we do, we go shopping!" Asuna exclaimed.

Kirito only rolled his eyes at this. But he decided he would let it go, because it would help take her mind off of the game of death. Even if it would be for only a few minutes.

* * *

 **Real World**

 **Time: 19:15**

 **Location: Kazuto's Hospital Room**

After the paramedics finished hooking up Kazuto to all the machines they had originally brought, they established they were about to be leaving. Midori, Sugu and Kazuto's mother, told them that she would be riding along with them in her sons ambulance. Of course, they disagreed with it almost immediately, but Midori would not back down. She protested until she got an 'Alright'. But much to Sugu's dismay, she would have to be riding in the front seat, while Midori would be in the back.

As they wheeled Kazuto out of the house and onto the street, Sugu saw that the neighbors had come out of their houses to see what was going on. Once they all say Kazuto in a stretcher and a Nerve gear on his head, they knew immediately what was going on. They simply looked on and bowed their heads when Sugu and Midori passed by.

Sugu knew they all were bowing out of respect, but all it made Sugu do was cry even harder. After they were on the road, time passed by slowly. She counted each and every turn they had made, until they had reached the Hospital.

After they wheeled him inside, they told the two of them that they had to wait a bit before they could come into the room. They understood, said a slight 'Thank You', and walked into the waiting room and took a seat.

In this time, they transferred him to a comfortable bed, and hooked him up to more machines. The room that he was in would be his until he either cleared the game, or died.

After about ten to fifteen minutes, they were able to go into his room. All Sugu did was sit now, and before she knew it it was already 8:00. In that time, she hadn't noticed that Midori had left the room at some point, that is until she entered the room again with a cup of coffee in her hands.

"Visiting hours ended a few minutes ago sweety. I think its best if we leave," she told her daughter gently. Sugu got up and left the room without a word. Midori understood her distance, and accepted it.

She walked over to her child who was lying in the bed and said,

"Be strong Kazu, Even though we are not true Mother and Son, I still love you," a single tear shed from her eye as she kissed Kazuto's cheek. She walked away but before leaving, she said "Please, return to us."

And with that she closed the door behind her...

 **(A.N. Had a bit of feels writing this.)**

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Location: Hanvanah**

 **Time: 18:56**

After agreeing to Asuna's terms, Kirito lead her around the town looking for the NPC that gives out the quest he was looking for. It took them a few minutes, but Kirito spotted a young boy on the outskirts of the town, looking out into the field. As Kirito approached the young boy, he gave Asuna a look saying he would handle the talking. Asuna nodded and stopped a few feet before Kirito halted.

"Hello," Kirito said politely, tapping the shoulder of the boy. The boy had a backwards blue and red cap, and some casual attire. The boy turned around and looked into Kirito's eyes. The boy was obviously a NPC, due to him not having a player cursor.

"Help me!" he pleaded. "Me and my younger brother were wondering in the fields when we were attacked by a group of thieves!"

"Oh no," Kirito said bending down look into the boys eyes straight on.

"I tried to fend them off, but they took him into that dungeon over there," he stopped to point to the dungeon that wasn't too far off. "As I approached the room at the end of the first floor, I noticed they looked him in a little cage!"

"Don't worry," Kirito answered, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I will get your brother back." Kirito finished, placing his finger on the menu that popped up, asking if he wanted to accept this quest.

"Thank you!" they boy said. At this time Kirito stood up straight and started to head off in the direction of the tower. Asuna quickly caught up to him. She took one final look back at the boy, then to the direction of where the starting town was, noticing not too many people on the trail.

"Say, Kirito-kun." Asuna said looking at the side of his face.

"Hmm?" Kirito replied keeping his face forwards.

"I was wondering," she started as they continued to walk. "Don't you think we are not ready for a dungeon?"

She heard him say 'Hmm' signaling he was thinking about it. He slid down his menu, to check the time and it read '7:15'. He closed his menu and looked back over at Asuna. Inspecting her face. He expected to see the same face of fear that was once as clear as day in her face, but instead it was replaced with a bit of caution.

"You might be right," he started to say. "We could train against wolves for a bit, then go back into town to grab a bit to eat. After we do that we can get a Hotel room and retire for the night?"

"Yeah," was all she mustered. "That would be the smarter plan," she said before racing off to fight off a small pack of wolves. Kirito shouted after her, but she only laughed back at him.

After awhile, the time read '7:46', telling Kirito that they had been grinding for little over a half an hour. Kirito pulled down his menu and inspected his **Iron Sword**. This got Asuna's attention asking him what he was doing.

"I am just looking at its stats," he simply stated. His **Iron Sword** had 8 attack, and 1 speed. Kirito was quite disappointed at this, but got over it since it was a starting weapon. While Asuna's **Iron Rapier** had 6 attack. but 3 speed. She was a happy with her weapon, but not as happy Kirito would be when he gets his new one within the next day.

"Say Kirito-kun, by the time we get up tomorrow, wouldn't someone else already accept the quest?" Asuna raised a good point, since she didn't know how the questing systems worked.

"Normally, it would be a 'Yes', but not in Sword Art Online. You see," he continued as he inspected his stats, "When a player accept a quest, that quest becomes 'Closed' meaning, no one else can accept it. They would only be able to see that it was already accepted. That is, until the payer either completes the quest, or abandons it." Kirito finished. He noticed that he grew to level 7 in the time they had been training. Although he only had 874 Col, it would be enough Col to pay for a week in a hotel for the two.

"Ah," she said while she started to inspect her level and Col. She had become a level 6 during their training, and had raised 796 Col. Quite satisfied with her progress, she closed the menu and walked with Kirito to the Hotel where they would be staying for the next week or so.

After that they fell silent for a while, noticing players starting to finally arrive in Hanvanah. Kirito noticed only a handful arriving in town, but said nothing on the matter, assuming people would stay the night in the Starting Town due to how late in the day it was when they received their death sentences. As they finally got back into town, Kirito lead Asuna to the top end of town, where they would soon be leaving to head towards the inns.

"Asuna-san," Kirito began. Getting her attention away from all the little clothing shops, he continued. "I say we grab a quick bite to eat before heading into the next town to stay the night."

Asuna only nodded a slight 'yes' before returning her gaze back to the shops. The past few hours, she made Kirito think she had been getting over the whole incident, but the truth was, she hasn't. She made jokes, agreed to his plans in an attempt to thank him for helping her. She only did this because of how quickly Kirito adapted to this situation. She thought if she pretended to be over the shock of the announcement of the 'Death Game', she would be able to stay with Kirito. She feared if she were to tell him the truth, he would cast her aside, and continue without her.

This fear made Asuna pretend that much harder.

"Hey? Asuna-san?" Kirito called out to her. Shaking her from her thoughts.

"Hmm? Oh! S-sorry!" Asuna replied flustered. "I spaced out for a bit," she finished with a forced smile.

Kirito had a hard time believing she was okay. Since the beginning he assumed that the sudden change in rules from a friendly game to a 'Death Game' scared Asuna. Like it should.

 _Good. That fear will keep her alive... Perhaps it will be easier to leave her than I originally thought._ Kirito thought to himself. Knowing this set him at ease. The two of them rounded a corner and found a good place to grab a bite to eat. Kirito ordering a glass of water and a simple sandwich, while Asuna ordered the exact same.

"Kirito-kun. Do you like to cook?" Asuna asked.

"Hmm... No, I don't have a good Cooking skill at all."

"Wh-what?!" Asuna asked confused. "Players can cook in Sword Art Online?!"

"Well, yeah. After you get a home, you wouldn't want to go out to eat every night. So you can upgrade your Cooking skill. Of course in the beta you had no need to do so. But now I guess that would be a good idea, seeing as how we will be in this game for a while..." Kirito said trailing off.

Asuna just starred wide-eyed at the table, not noticing the food arrive shortly afterwards. Kirito just chuckled as he took a bite out of his sandwich. Asuna quickly snapped out of it, taking a bite out of her sandwich. She didn't know how hungry she was until she took her first bite. Then a second one followed, then a third. This continued until there was nothing left in her hands. Sighing greatly, Kirito laughed at the scene that played out before him.

Asuna puffed her cheeks at him and looked away, feeling her face turn red.

They sat in silence until Kirito finished his sandwich. After he finished his last bite, the waitress came over and Kirito payed for the bill.

The two got up and headed for the Inns. Small talk absorbed them, mostly talking about how they will approach the quest the following day. The conversation ended when they entered the Inn in the next town.

"Hello!" the NPC greeted them as they approached the counter. He was a big guy, with short brown hair that started to recede. He wore a white shirt with blue overalls.

Kirito placed his hands on the counter and asked for a room for two. When he said this, Asuna's eyes widened, previously thinking that they would both have their own rooms. She calmed down after the initial shock. But continued to watch the conversation happen between the two.

The man typed into his computer, and told them they had one room for two on the first floor, the rest were scattered among the rest of the floors. Kirito told the man they would take the one on the first floor.

"That would be, 50 Col for a day, or 200 Col for a week!" the man said looking at Kirito.

"I'll take the one fore the week," Kirito said, pressing the 'Buy?' option that came up. The NPC extended out his hand, and revealed a key, which Kirito gladly accepted, and took off in the direction the man told them their room was.

After entering the room, they found it too be a small room. After opening the door, they were in what seemed like a living room, and off to the right was a bathroom and a small kitchen. Off to the left was a one bedroom room with two beds and a few chests to store items in. After they got into the room, Kirito unequipped his **Iron Sword** and equipped casual attire. Asuna followed shortly after.

They both sat down on their respective beds and Kirito checked the time, which read '9:24'. Closing the menu, he lied down with his hands behind his head and his eyes closed. They stayed that way for a few minutes before Kirito started to talk.

"Asuna-san. I know something is bothering you," Kirito said, getting right to the point. "If we are to be adventuring together, I would like you not to space off like you did a few times earlier."

"Sorry," was all Asuna said, dropping her head down. Kirito normally had a bit more respect for women than he would like to admit. Kirito scolded himself internally, for saying something so rude to her.

Kirito sat up quickly and looked at her. Her head was still down, but he could see her wiping away her tears as quickly as she could so he wouldn't see.

"No," Kirito said looking at the wall. "I am the one who is sorry. I shouldn't have said something so rude. You were right earlier when you called me an 'Ass'," he quipped, trying to lighten the mood. Which seemed to work, seeing as how she started to giggle to her self. "I am sorry," he repeated.

"No no, it-its fine," she sniffled. "Its just, all of this is so sudden. the 'Death Game' I mean," she said as if she had to clarify.

All Kirito was starred at her. He of course felt bad for her, but on a deeper level he wish he had the power to do something about it. All he could do is lie to her and tell her it would be alright, but even he did not know what would happen. So he starred at the crying Asuna, and felt bad for her.

"Is that what's been bothering you?" he asked gently, trying not to be so blunt about it.

"Yes, an- and if you knew how weak I truly was, you would probably leave me behind," she finished strongly.

Kirito was thrown back at his. In normal circumstances, people would be so comfortable around others, but given their situation, if you trained all day with someone, you would underestimate your own strength when you had to fight alone. He of course was use to fighting alone, so he knew his limits, and when to stop. Although since this is Asuna's first time being in such an environment, she wouldn't know her limits.

"Don't worry about it," he said in an attempt to soothe her. "I am not going anywhere right now," he finished returning his gaze back to the wall. "After all," he started. "We are partners now, right?" He asked, half for himself and half for her. When he finished saying this, he sent her a party invite.

Asuna wiped away the last of her tears. She looked up at Kirito, whose body was facing the wall in front of him, but his face was looking straight at her. A cocky smile was planted on his face.

Mustering a smile, she accepted the party invite. "Of course," she said, shedding one last tear before laying back down on her bed.

After a few minutes, Kirito got up and looked at her sleeping figure. _What did I just get myself into?_ He thought, slightly scolding himself. _Solo players don't do parties._

He had no choice now. He was in this for the long haul. That was, until people figured out he was a beta tester. _That would be hell for Asuna-san. People would loath her because she would be around me._ He thought before laying back down on his bed. He pulled the covers over his shoulders, and closed his eyes, and let the nightmares he never thought would come, come...

* * *

 **Real World**

 **Time: 22:01**

 **Place: Kirigaya Residence**

After returning from the hospital, Sugu got out of the taxi, and went straight up to her brothers room without saying a word to her mother. Midori of course understood, but at the same time she herself was heartbroken to see her own daughter like this.

 _I have to tell her._ She told herself, while getting out of the taxi. She went to the drivers window and payed for his service, before he sped off down the street.

Walking up to the house, Midori looked into her son's window, and saw nothing but darkness. She opened the door, and walked in. Slipping off her shoes, she saw Suguha's shoes in the middle of the floor, sighing she picked them up and put them in their correct location.

Seeing as how the two had dinner at the hospital, she decided to just go to her room. As she made her way up the stairs, she heard the steps creaked as she made her way up them.

Suguha, hearing this, rushed into her room and closed the door, wanting to avoid getting talked to, seeing as how she just wanted to be alone for a bit. One of their neighbors was a kid she went to school with, so news spread like wildfire in her grade. At first only a few people had asked her if she was okay.

After an hour or so, she had so many unread messages, she just wanted to throw her phone out of her window as fast, and as far as she could. But resisted the urge to. She started to practice what she would be saying to all her friends and teachers. Juggling things like 'I am fine.' or 'Yes its true.' but the one she wanted to use the most was, 'I am fine! I just want to be alone!'

Although Suguha did not want to be rude to her classmates, she decided she would say something to avoid to much attention.

 _Virtual World..._ Sugu thought. She started cursing it up and down accusing it of robbing her mother and herself of Kazuto. And one point, she was right too, but another to blame Kazuto for putting on that Never gear.

But of course she didn't know the real reason behind her brothers distance.

After a few hours of trying to put on a straight face, the tears finally caught up to her, and with that, it was if a Dam in her head at burst.

The tears didn't stop coming...

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Location: An Inn, just outside Hanvanah**

 **Time: 8:15**

As if he were still in the real world, he woke up at '8:15' for school. Completely forgetting for a split second where he was, Kirito stretched and subconsciously said,

"I am up Suguha," his eyes shot opened in realization. Fearing Asuna had heard him, he looked over to her sleeping figure and relaxed to see that she was still sleeping.

After last nights talk, Kirito took it upon himself to make it up to Asuna for being so rude to her. He felt bad that his comment had made her realize the situation they were in, on a much deeper level, and for that he blamed himself.

Getting up, he walked across the room and carefully opened the door, and gently closed it behind him, fearing the wrath of waking a girl. He sighed in relief when he was successful. He crossed the floor in a few seconds time, and opened the refrigerator door. He was glad to see that there was some eggs and a few packs of bacon in there.

His eyes widened in fear when he realized he had no skills in the kitchen. "Awe Shit," he muttered to himself. Trying his best to imitate how Sugu would do this, he put a pan on the stove and cracked the egg in the pan, making sure no egg shells would get into the pan. He did a victorious fist pump in the air, then proceeded to crack another, cautious of the same thing. After a few minutes, he realized that the eggs were not cooking.

"Whaat?" he tilted his head, then noticed that he forgot to turn the gas on. He smacked his forehead and called himself an idiot over and over.

Back in the room, Asuna was finally starting to wake up. She rolled onto her back and gently opened her eyes. She looked at her hands and said,

"Nope... Not a dream," she finished, while starting to tear up. But quickly wiped them away. Sitting up she pushed the blanket off of her, and looked over to the other bed while saying, "Good morning Kirito-ku-"

She looked around the small room and noticed he was no where to be found. Curious at this, she started to get up. She changed into casual attire before leaving the room, as she started to open the door, she heard a little explosion and someone yelling, "SHIT!"

Racing out of the room, she nearly had a heart attack but then calmed down when nothing serious had happened. She looked up at Kirito and nearly died of laughter. His face had been blackened, and his hair had been spiked up from the small explosion.

"Wha- What are you laughing at?" he asked concerned.

"Kir-Kirito-kun," she managed between her giggles. "Lo-look at yourself!"

After a few minutes of him trying get his hair back in order, he explained to her that he was trying to make them breakfast but when he tried to turn on the gas, a little explosion happened, making his face hairless.

"You didn't have too," she assured him.

"I know, but I felt guilty for you crying last night."

"Ah, well you can put that aside after we get you your sword!" she said changing the topic. She took everything from him, and started to make breakfast for the two of them herself. "What do we have to do? Just save a little kid from a cage?"

"Yes," he reminded her of the quests requirements. "But the friend who took the quest in the Beta said the hardest part of the quest was getting to the dungeon. Apparently around those parts of this map is where a certain Mini-boss spawns. 'The Dire Wolf Alpha' if I remember correctly.

Apparently the Mini-Boss drops quite the drop. The same friend got the drop. He said it was a piece of armor." Kirito closed his eyes trying to remember details about the armor. "Its some sort of coat that promotes Speed and Health Regeneration. But doesn't really help out that much because the Skill **Battle Healing** doesn't come till later in levels," he finished while eyeing Asuna making his food.

Asuna noticed this and laughed, thinking that Kirito thought with his stomach. "So are we going to fight the 'Alpha' or leave it to other players?"

"I think we should take it on, because in the Beta, 'The Dire Wolf Alpha' would respawn just like other monsters would. The only difference was that it takes a bit longer to do so."

Asuna made an 'Ahh' expression as she finished cooking the eggs. She had to, of course, remake it from scratch. Seeing as how the previous eggs had exploded.

She placed down the eggs in front of Kirito, and she sat down next to him. Trying it, Kirito's eyes widened in disbelief. He couldn't believe how good something was, and for it to be in a MMO.

"Wow," he said in amazement.

"What?" she turned away, clearly blushing in embarrassment.

"Its just so good!" Kirito paused before devouring the plate of eggs.

"They are just eggs, Kirito-kun," she giggled.

"I should make food explode more often if it would make you cook for me..." Kirito said, meaning for it to be said in his head, but mistakenly saying it out loud.

Asuna just giggled and finished her eggs. Kirito got up and went back into the room to get changed. He put back on his usual attire and equipped his **Iron Sword**. He looked at it, and said,

"This will be your last day, before I get one that will make you look like a paper sword," he finished while leaving the room. He waited until Asuna was done with her preparations, and when she was, they left the place at once.

Kirito checked the time and it read '9:30'. Kirito figured that they would be able to complete the quest before dinner. As they left the Inn, they saw little players. The probably did the same thing they did and whet to an Inn for the night. Kirito assumed.

They left the town and headed toward the dungeon the little boy pointed too. The path there was not that long, but on the way there, there was a forest off to the side of it, and more fields on the other side. What concerned Kirito even more is that there was wolves roaming around. Asuna noticed this too and told Kirito they should take them out, for the extra experience.

He agreed and they took off at once, they both drew they respective weapons, and attacked one at once. At the last second, it spotted us and pounced off to the side, growling.

Kirito noticed the slight change in movement and adjusted his path to ensure a hit to the side of the wolf, scratching it. Asuna backed off a bit to activate **Linear** , as she did another wolf pounced on her. But she was quick enough with her weapon, to swipe upwards, launching the wolf back a few feet. In doing so, Asuna charged up a **Stab** and launched herself straight at the wolf. The wolf wasn't fast enough, and was pierced through the side. Shattering, she turned around to see Kirito looking at her with a smile.

"What took you so long?" he asked, noticing a display came up on her screen telling her what she got and how much Col she had received.

"How long were you standing there?" She asked with a bit of anger in her voice.

"About 20 seconds..." Kirito thought before answering. "You looked like you didn't need any help, so I decided to sit this one out," he finished with a sly grin.

"You could of helped!" Asuna calmed down a bit, but remained a bit angry.

Kirito put a finger to his chin and replied, "You are right, I could of. But It would have interrupted you, so I didn't," he finished. Soon after Kirito turned around and walked away.

"NEXT TIME I WON'T HELP YOU THEN!" Asuna yelled, while catching up to him.

"Good, I could use the extra practice," he replied nonchalantly.

"You little- Hey! Get back here!" Asuna yelled after she had noticed Kirito racing off to fight another wolf. She at first was a bit upset, but after a few seconds, she drew her **Iron Rapier** , and ran over to assist him.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I originally wasn't planning on stopping there, but decided that it would have been a much longer chapter if I didn't cut it short. Next chapter will be up by the middle to end of the week, so don't worry. If you didn't read the Note at the top, go read it.

Last thing, Please leave a review telling me you thoughts. I appreciate the criticism, and or the complements!


	3. To Kill a Boss

**Author's Note:**

Every now and then I will throw in events that are happening in the Real World. Like how they react to Kazuto's Conditions and the small things like that.

Thank you too all those who reviewed! I really appreciate everyone's commentary, but one small issue did come up in the reviews that I wanted to address. In the previous chapter, Kirito mentioned that he would have a problem if people knew he was a Beta Tester. When I said that, I meant people would be asking him for help with stuff. Cause a few days in, all quests are fair game.

Other than that issue, I present you the last chapter of Floor One!

 **Disclaimer: I only own this apple, though I wish it was Sword Art Online...**

* * *

 **Real World**

 **Time: 8:15**

 **Location: Kirigaya Residence**

Suguha has had better mornings.

Suguha had trouble opening her eyes, due to her dried tears, making her eyes be glued shut. After getting home from the hospital, Suguha had gone to her room, and cried. For how long she cried? She did not know. Midori, her mother, had trouble sleeping herself cause her heart kept breaking with each gasp of air Suguha had let out the previous night. Making both of their nights a hard one.

After lying in bed for a few minutes, Suguha threw the covers off of her, and got up. She walked to her bathroom, while already dreading the day that was about to happen. Throughout the night, her phone kept buzzing with concern. Apparently the entire school already knew about her brother, and they would be treating her differently for a while.

She fully opened her eyes and looked into the mirror. She starred at herself in disgust. She wiped away her dried up tears while yelling at herself in frustration because she couldn't seem to wipe them away.

This just made her cry harder.

She slid her back down the wall and spoke out loud, "See what you did to me? Onii-chan?"

"Suguha?" her mother called up to her. "Its time to get ready for school."

She ignored her mothers shouts and just continued to stare into space, making up her mind that she would have to coop with it, and just continue, head held high. She all but dragged herself out of her bathroom. She quickly dressed up in her school uniform, and walked out of her room.

As she walked down the hallway, she stopped at Kazuto's room and peered inside. The emptiness of his room was enough to drain her heart empty until all that was left was a broken shell. She continued down the hallway even slower than originally.

 _I'll go visit him_. She thought, making up her mind.

As she lugged herself down the stairs, she put her school bag and Kendo equipment by the door, before walking into the Kitchen and sitting down. She noticed her mother was making breakfast. Normally should would think this is weird, but given everything that had happened yesterday, it was obvious what the gesture was.

"Made you your favorite," her mother said, placing eggs and toast on a plate, before walking over to Suguha and placing it down before her.

"Thanks," Sugu replied, before saying a quick grace. "Mother?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think it would be okay if I would go see Kazuto-kun...?" Suguha asked hoping she would be getting an 'Okay.'

"Hmm..." Her mother started to ponder on the idea. "Given the circumstances, I think we should stay clear for a week. Although I wouldn't mind you going, I heard on the news that Nurses and Doctors wanted to try and figure out a way to intercept the ultra-sonic waves that would be transmitted from the Nerve gear to the brain," she finished. Midori looked over at Suguha, and notice a confused face plastered on her.

Midori giggled at this, normally she would of been talking to Kazuto about this sort of stuff. And normally, he would be able to understand everything she was saying, and talk back in the same, if not more complicated language than what Suguha is use to.

"Basically, they are trying to get into the Nerve gear and make it so they would be able to take off the helmet without damaging the brain, as Kayaba had originally planned. So they are trying to figure out a lot of things right now," she finished then turned back making herself a bento.

"Ah," was all Suguha could manage. Her thought process was filled with the concern if, and when she would be able to see him next. "So when do you think we can see him again?"

"I would estimate a week, maybe two?" she answered. Sugu looked back at her breakfast, and just played with it. She wasn't hungry, and she didn't think she would be for a while. Though she took bites to please her mother, and avoid the concern she would be getting if she hadn't.

After Midori finished making her bento, she packed it in her work bag. She walked over to Sugu, placed a kiss on the top of her head and left with a simple 'Goodbye'.

Suguha followed soon after. Putting the rest of her breakfast in the garbage disposal, and making a small bento herself, even though she thought she wouldn't eat it.

She packed up her bag, and left the house, taking one last look into Kazuto's window, she walked onto the street, and made her way to school.

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Time: 9:30**

 **Location: Fields outside of Hanvanah**

Finishing the last of the wolves that flooded the fields surrounding one of the four towers on the First Floor, Kirito and Asuna both inspected their drops. Noticing an abnormal amount of 'Wolf Hide', Asuna was a bit disgusted, but was reassured by Kirito, that it was good for being sold.

"Oh..." Asuna said, kinda appalled that there was such a drop in a game. "Why is there 'Wolf Hide' in... ANY game?" she asked the Beta Tester.

"Well, in this game, there is a lot of armor and clothing, right?" To this Asuna nodded, gesturing for him to continue. "Seeing as how there are a lot of real life skills, there is also a ' **Tailoring** ' skill, allowing players to self make clothing. So people like you and I, we have no need for such items. We would simply sell it to people would want to make clothing. But of course, player made items tend to cost a bit more."

"Ohh! That makes sense," Asuna said understanding. "That aside. Kirito-kun? Didn't you say there was a Mini-Boss here? Something called, 'The Dire Wolf Alpha'?"

"Ah, yes I did," Kirito said, remembering telling Asuna about it. "He spawns on a rock on the left said of the tower," Kirito finished pointing his finger to a rock about 100 yards in front of them.

"So are we going to face it?" Asuna asked, looking at Kirito's face, a cocky smiled formed on his lips.

"Maybe after I get this Sword," he said while closing the distance between them and the tower. Kirito opened his menu to find he finally hit double digits in terms of level. He had leveled up to level 11, while Asuna managed to make it to level 10. She just barely hit it, when facing the last of the wolves. Kirito was amazed at her progress. Every time she handles a wolf by herself, he always compares her fighting to that of Klein's battle against a Boar.

"Say, Kirito-kun. You are talking so highly of this Sword, what is its name?" Asuna questioned.

"Well, Asuna-san. The name of it, is **The Blade of Azure**. It has 15 Attack, 3 speed, and 250 durability," Kirito said, looking up at the sky as if he were dreaming of the sword. "The ' **Blade of Azure** ' is a single handed weapon. The sword is a dark black, with blue lining the edges of the blade. The handle is a standard black handle with a blue crystal in the middle on it," he finished.

"Durability?" Asuna asked, remembering seeing that title on her **Iron Rapier**. She pulled down her menu and inspected her weapon, noticing her appraisal saying ' **Durability: -** '. "What does it mean?"

"Durability means how long the weapon would last before breaking. Each time you defeat a monster or boss, that number decreases. If you let it get to '0' it breaks. Leaving you without a weapon."

"Then won't every weapon break?!" Asuna asked concerned.

"Well, yes and no. If you let it happen then it will break, but if you take it to a Blacksmith, they can repair your weapon, making it last longer. The only weapons that do not break, is a starting weapon," Kirito reasoned, looking a head of them. He noticed they were almost at the dungeon.

"Oh, that makes sense..." she said, sounding a little unsure. But she understood enough of it to not let a weapon break. "So about blacksmiths. What can you upgrade there?"

"Uhh, the basics. Like attack of the weapon, speed, and the durability. But when upgrading you have to be careful, because you can only upgrade it 8 times in any category," Kirito said.

"Makes sense," Asuna said, noticing a stray wolf up ahead. She drew her **Iron Rapier** and dashed forwards. Kirito started to yell something, but she was far enough out of ear shot, so she just ignored him. She charged a **Stab** and killed the wolf in one attack. She jumped backwards and waited for Kirito to catch up.

"Are you insane?!" Kirito yelled

Asuna was thrown back at his sudden tone. "What did I do?" Asuna rebutted.

"Look at where we are!" Kirito yelled, pointing to the rock ahead of them. Asuna looked and knew at once what she did wrong. That wolf was a scouting wolf.

A sacrifice.

The stray wolf would draw players in, so then the main pack would attack. But this pack was led by 'The Dire Wolf Alpha'. Asuna looked up at the 'Alpha' and it was easily 10 times the size of the normal wolf they had been farming. Her eyes were frozen in shock when it let out a low howl, signaling for her pack to attack. Kirito reacted immediately.

He drew his **Iron Sword** and fended off the lunging wolves. Keeping them at bay, he told Asuna to run, to which she happily complied.

"GET TO THE DUNGEON!" He yelled from over his shoulder. She activated her **Sprint** Skill, and took off in a dust of smoke. Kirito dodged wolf after wolf as they tried to take out his ankles. But Kirito wouldn't let them take him out. He simply slashed and blocked them from attacking. He knew monsters would not stray too far away from their spawn point, so he gently back away from the pack, and when he was far enough away, he turned around and ran to the dungeon.

Noticing this, 'The Dire Wolf Alpha' howled at her pack, notifying that she would take it from there, and she jumped from her rock and chased after Kirito. _Perfect_. Kirito said a slight sly grin formed on his face. _She took the bait. By leaving the pack, the two of them could flank her_.

"Asuna-san!" Kirito yelled to Asuna. Asuna was watching the events unfold. When she heard him scream her name, she thought he needed help, but realized his change of plan. Kirito side stepped and let the wolf catch up to him. He slid to a stop and attacked her side. Noticing this, Asuna charged up a **Linear** and rushed to her other side, slicing upwards, Asuna changed from a **Linear** , to a **Stab**.

Upon getting a stab from the side, the 'Alpha' jerked her rear feet to Asuna and pounded her into the air. Asuna landed about 20 feet away from the dungeon's door. Something in Kirito's eyes changed from thinking he could take control of his fate in this game, to one that feared death above all else.

The 'Alpha' showed no remorse. Kirito was pounded and bitten over and over. Noticing his health start to drop into the 'Red Zone', Asuna charged with a powerful **Stab** , and knocked the 'Alpha' off of Kirito. Asuna quickly pulled Kirito to his feet and she sprinted, with his hand in hers, to the dungeon's door. They were about to reach the door, until Kirito's legs gave in. Making them tumble onto the grass.

"Shit. Shit. Shit." Kirito said on repeat, trying to sit back up. He took one look over his head and saw the 'Alpha' slowly approaching them.

* * *

 **Real World**

 **Suguha's School**

 **Time: 12:30**

School that day, couldn't of gone any worse.

She walked into the court yard and took a seat on a bench, noticing everyone was keeping their distance.

 _Finally_. She thought, while remembering the dispute from earlier.

 _Flashback_

Suguha wanted only a few things from her fellow classmates. One was to be left alone, while the other was, for no one to bring up her brother. But of course, within the first 30 seconds of her being in school, both of those things were already violated.

As soon as she got into the building, people swamped her with things like, 'Are you okay?' No. 'Is it true about your brother?' Yes. 'How have you been holding up?' Rather get thrown in front of a bus. 'I can't imagine what you are going through...' Of course you haven't.

After a few minutes of peoples questions, something snapped inside of her head. After that snapped, her filter was gone, and all hell broke loose.

"ALRIGHT!" she said, snapping. "I HAVE HAD IT! YES, MY BROTHER IS TRAPPED IN THE GAME. YES HE IS IN THE HOSPITAL. NO I DO NOT KNOW WHEN HE WILL BE BACK, IF HE WILL BACK. AND NO! DO YOU THINK I LOOK OKAY?!"

Peoples eyes widened in fear. For someone who was normally upbeat and quiet to be like this. But they understood. But after her little burst, a crowd had formed around her. So she let everything inside flow loose.

"The past day has been hell. If any of you know someone who is trapped in that game, I apologize in advance. But just imagine, someone who you love, possibly more than anyone, be taken from you, and have their mind be somewhere else. But at the same time, not knowing what they are going through..." Suguha's voice started to crack, while at the same time she suppressed the tears that wanted to fall.

Everyone's face looked anywhere but Sugu's. Some people found an interesting spot on the floor, while some people's eyes were wondering the hallway. A few teachers had come out of their rooms to see the commotion. And among all the teachers, she say the Principal of the school, looking at her, as if saying for her to continue.

"But-But at the same time you can almost feel the pain they are going through, and having no-no way to help them..." At last she broke. Her knees buckled from underneath her and she hit the floor hard. Her black hair fell loosely, while her chin was planted on her chest. Everyone gave her a few minutes to collect herself. And after she got back up, no one said a word.

 _Flashback (End)_

Sugu's eyes remained closed, after remembering the events that had transpired. She hadn't noticed a boy with glasses and black hair had occupied part of the bench she was sitting on.

She looked at him for a second, then looked away. _Nagata Shinichi_. Remembering his name, he simply only starred at her, feeling a bit sad for her yet he knew her enough not to let it show.

"What do you want, Nagata-san?" Suguha said coldly. She noticed her lunch she had absent-mindlessly taken out of her bag. Not feeling the urge to eat, she wrapped her salad back up, and put it back in the bag of hers, before finding an interesting spot on the wall to stare at.

"Nothing Suguh-" Sugu gave him a cold glare, telling him not to call her 'Suguha' with only her eyes. He threw his hands up in defense and corrected himself. "Kirigaya-san."

She looked back at the wall, not responding to the boy.

Nagata pushed his glasses back into place, before establishing that she wanted to be left alone. He reached a hand to place on her shoulder, but he stopped his hand before it touched her.

"If you need anything, Kirigaya-san," he began while starting to get up. "Don't be afraid to ask."

"Thanks. Nagata-san," she commented, emotionless. All of her emotions has already been spilled. The lunch bell rang, and Suguha got up and left the concerned Nagata, but he let it past him and went off on his own way to his next class.

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Location: Just Outside One of The First Floor Dungeons**

 **Time: 10:02**

Kirito was able to flip his body around, making it so he was laying on his back. He propped himself up on his shoulders and squinted his eyes to see 'The Dire Wolf Alpha' approaching him. Asuna herself was struggling to get up, because after the fall the two of them had, Asuna's HP had fallen to the brink of the 'Red Zone', while Kirito's HP was dangerously low.

"I am sorry Asuna-san," he started. "I am weak... Go on- into the dungeon!" he managed to say. Asuna got to her knees and tried to help Kirito up, but it ended in failure. With one last action, the 'Alpha' pounced on her pray.

Noticing this, Kirito pushed Asuna out of the way, drawing his **Iron Sword** , he swung upwards with his eyes closed, determined to go down fighting. He severed the 'Alpha's' front paw off, and it crashed down to Kirito's side.

The 'Alpha' fell into the 'Yellow Zone' in terms of HP. Not wanting to take any further chances, Kirito pulled himself to his feet and Asuna pulled him towards the Dungeon. Opening the door, Kirito ran into the dungeon, and tripped and face planted. Not caring that he probably made a fool out of himself, he was glad they were safe for now.

Pulling out a 'Potion', he handed one too Asuna, and they both drank up.

"Where did you get these?" she asked, taking a sip. Kirito's health peaked into the 'Green Zone' before sighing.

"All players start off with two, Asuna-san," Kirito said while sighing in relief. One Kirito's Health was safely in the 'Green Zone', Asuna punched his shoulder.

"OW!" Kirito let out a little squeal. "What was that for?!" He said, kind of appalled.

"For almost getting yourself killed!" Asuna said, voice cracking. Kirito thought over how the battle went. He remembered his change of heart mid-battle. He went from thinking he could Control his fate in this game, to realizing he too was a scared little girl, when it came down to thinking about their situation.

"Sorry, Asuna-san," his voice changing to one with great concern. "I thought that since I was a Beta tester, I would of been able to control what happens to me," he looked at his hand. He balled his hand into a fist and stared at it. "But I realized just how weak I am..." his voice trailing off as a single tear shed from his eyes. Asuna only starred in disbelief. She thought originally that he had such a strong shell, and was able to hid his emotions very well. But when he noticed he wasn't able to control this game the way he thought he could, he broke.

Asuna just watched him break down. This in turn made her eyes water a bit. She heard him say names, but couldn't make them out. _Su? Suga? Sugu?_ She thought trying to make out the names he was saying. After a few more minutes, he was able to collect his thoughts. He stood up and brushed his face one last time with his sleeve.

"Sorry you had to see that," Kirito said, walking over to Asuna, and extended an arm to her, in an offer to help her up.

"Its fine, just shows you have feelings," she chided, accepting the hand that had been offered to her.

Kirito's face went wide in disbelief that she had the nerve to say that. He let go of her hand and she went crashing down, landing on her butt. Kirito only laughed when she landed with an 'Oomf!'

"Hey! You ass!" she said, embarrassed. Saying that, it only made Kirito laugh harder. Asuna puffed out her reddened cheeks

"Well you shouldn't have said something so mean!" he puffed out his cheeks in an attempt to mock the face she was giving him. Kirito simply took off down the tunnel. This enraged Asuna, she stood up, drawing her **Iron Rapier** and chased Kirito yelling 'ASSHOLE!'

After a minutes or so, Asuna finally calmed down, still giving Kirito a hateful glace every now and then. But needless to say, they had a more important task at hand.

"Kirito-kun," Asuna started to say to get his attention. "Wouldn't the 'Alpha' not have a paw when we go back out there?" She questioned.

"You would think. But no. After 15 minutes of a monster who hasn't been in combat, they will respawn. So she will have a paw, and full health," Kirito said with detest in his voice.

"Oh, makes sense if you think about it."

"Yeah I guess. They are like players, if you think about it," he said while walking around a corner to a more open hallway that gradually opened up till it was the size of a football stadium. "They regenerate health, fight, but they don't have the ability to talk and shop."

"Uhh, Kirito-kun, where did the Boy say his brother was being held captive?" Asuna asked while trying to remember what the NPC had said.

"Only that thieves had taken him to the end of the first floor of this dungeon. About 10 minutes back I thought I saw a way up some, to another floor," Kirito recalled. As they entered the bigger portion of the floor, Kirito noticed that they had passed a line of some sorts. Though curious, he didn't let it phase him.

After another 30 feet, the line they had passed started to glow, until a faint light shot upwards making a barrier. Kirito's head snapped backwards a pointed it out to Asuna.

"We are in the right place..." Kirito said, looking around them. All he heard from Asuna was a slight 'Yeah'. She turned her head back to the way they were headed, and she noticed a little alter at the end of the way.

"Kirito-kun," She pointed to the little alter. Kirito looked and noticed something off with this. _What would thieves be doing here?_ He questioned this quest. As they got closer, all the lights shut off in the dungeon. Startling Asuna, she grabbed Kirito's elbow to make sure she knew where he was. Straining his eyes, Kirito managed to see faint lights off in the distance, and before either of them knew it, the lights turned back on.

Immediately after, Kirito drew his **Iron Sword** , because when the lights came back on he say the so called 'Thieves'.

There was a total of 10 of them. They formed a circle around Kirito and Asuna, who had draw her **Iron Rapier** a bit too late, due to one of them had charged at Kirito. Kirito noticed each one of them all wielded the same **Blackened Mace** , which was a basic mace you can buy at the store in Starting Town. He simply side-stepped and swung upwards, severing the 'Thief's' arm in the process. Kirito slashed while Asuna **Stabbed** once, killing it. Kirito noticed the enemies tags and saw their actual name. 'Cave Trolls'.

Kirito's eyes widened.

Since the 'Death Game' had started, he had noticed changes from the Beta, to the actual release. And he knew this was all wrong. Cave trolls were introduced on floor 6, not the first floor, let alone a side quest.

Not letting it bother them, two more 'Trolls' had charged them, but Kirito kept them at bay, and at the same time he lowered their HP's hit the 'Red Zone'. When this happened, he yelled "SWITCH," and Asuna swapped in to finish them up.

After the last one was defeated, Kirito looked up at the alter and noticed, that one final 'Troll' stood. Kirito put his sword on his shoulder, and approached it.

"Good job, Humans," it said as if disbelieved at the outcome of the battle. "You were able to defeat my minions. I suppose you came for the boy," he gestured to the door behind him. The door was your average door, yet there were too that stood side by side by side, making it seem larger.

"Aye," was all Kirito said.

"Well than," he gestured. "Come and fight me!"

Then it jumped from its alter and engaged a fight with the Duo.

Kirito noticed right off the bat, that its title was 'King Cave Troll', meaning he was another mini boss for the First Floor. He had three health bars, and wielded a **Dark Mace** , which would be considered a Rare item for a player, but for a mini boss, it was understandable. Kirito placed his left hand on his **Iron Sword** and raised his sword into the air, and deflected the mace upwards.

With that, Asuna landed a **Linear** , which made the King fall back a little. Kirito kept the pressure on. Remembering the downfall of maces, he used it to his advantage. When ever a mace misses its attack, they have a .5 second delay before being able to swing again.

The King attacked with his **Dark Mace** again, this time, Kirito rolled out of the way and quickly attacked the defenseless opponent. After a few minutes of this strategy, his health dropped down to 2 bars of health. The king noticed Kirito's attack pattern, so this time he threw a faint.

The King swung his weapon down at Kirito, who blocked, but this time the King thew a punch at Kirito. Seeing through the Kings' faint, Asuna attacked the punching hand, making him miss Kirito by a hair.

Stumbling back, Kirito and Asuna attacked at once. Each faint the King tried to pull, was seen through by Asuna.

 _Something is wrong_. Kirito noticed this was too easy. But he pressed through his bad thoughts, and attacked the King until he was down to his final 'Red Zone'.

Asuna was the one who landed the final blow. With the blow, the King shattered, without a word. Kirito looked around and noticed the barrier started to collapse. _Too easy_... He had thought to himself. Their HP hadn't even hit the 'Red Zone', finding this bizarre, he let it pass him, as he turned to the door.

"Asuna-san," Kirito said, grabbing her arm. She looked at him and noticed he drew his sword. "Be ready for anything..." To this, Asuna only nodded her head at Kirito. Drawing her Rapier, they both went into the room.

It was a small room. The walls were closed in pretty tightly, and at the other end of it there was a small boy in a cage. He walked over to the cage and knew he wouldn't be able say anything to him, so he walked over to the wall next to hit and pressed the 'Complete Quest?' button. Clicking yes, the boy disappeared.

"Thats it?" Asuna said, kinda disappointed. She looked over at Kirito and saw his head nod slightly.

"Yeah I guess... Come on, lets leave this place. I have a bad feeling about it..." And with that, they left the Dungeon. After they left the Dungeon, they were careful to avoid the 'Alpha', remember their near death experience, they wanted to avoid that whole ordeal. By the time they had left the dungeon, it was already night. Kirito checked the time and it read '7:39'.

"Its night already?" Asuna asked, meaning for the question to be rhetorical. Picking up on it, Kirito didn't respond. But yet he walked ahead of her. Kirito stopped out of nowhere, and Asuna didn't realize until she almost bumped into him.

"What is it?" She asked him. No reply.

"Kirito-kun?" She tried. Nothing.

"Kirito-chan?" Nothing.

"Kirito-kun! Your scaring me!" The look in his face scared her to the very bone. He remained like this for a few minutes, until something inside him snapped.

"I missed lunch?!" He fell to his knees. Asuna looked at him and only laughed.

"Ha-Ha, you scared me for a second Kirito-kun. Thinking with your stomach aren't ya?" She said collecting her self. "It all will be worth it, Kiri-kun. I mean, you get your blade don't ya?" She said.

Kirito ignored being called 'Kiri'. He noticed her start to walk off without him, but he hurriedly caught up after hearing her say that she would go get the sword for herself.

After a 20 minutes walk, they arrived back at the little boy, and noticed there was an older man with them. Kirito walked up to the two, and politely greeted them and introduced himself.

"Is he the one who saved him?" The older man asked the boy. Kirito couldn't help but notice the box that rested up against the wall. If he were to take up right now, without it being offered to him, it would be rendered unusable and would return to the NPC's.

"Yes," was all the boy said.

"Ah, then I thank you, young man. You see, after the little one had been taken, we couldn't take action, so this one," he put a hand on the boys head. "Took it upon himself to find someone who would be able to. You see, there isn't much we can do, but offer you this sword. Its name, is **The Blade of Azure** , and I would like you to have it. Along with a bit of Col."

Kirito accepted the blade, and a 'Quest Completed' window popped up, showing his rewards.

Col: 250

XP: 200 (XP HAS BEEN SPLIT TO ALL MEMBERS OF PARTY)

Item(s): (0)

Bonus Item(s): (1)

 **The Blade of Azure**

"Thank you," was all Kirito could say before the two of them left.

He walked back to Asuna with Pride in his eyes.

"Thank you, Asuna-san. I don't know what I can do to repay you," Kirito said, then proceeded to pull up his 'Menu'. He searched for his new sword, equipped it. He got a new sheath and it stopped and it wrapped around the blue crystal that was in the center. He drew it and gave it a few practice swings.

"I do," Asuna said curtly. "You promised me we would go shopping!" Hearing Kirito Sigh, made her giggle. "Also, you promised me we would get me a new Rapier, saying that this one was a 'Toothpick'."

"Hey! Don't twist my words! I said your new one would make it ATTACK like one!" Kirito said, fighting back.

"Fine then, I think I should take that sword! Seeing as how I got the last attack on the 'King'!" She pointed out.

"NO!" Kirito said, defending his blade. This earned a giggle from Asuna. "What did you get from the 'King' by the way? Normally Bosses and Mini bosses give last attacking bonuses."

"Oh right," she said pulling up her inventory. She searched it until she found the item called **Running Shoes**.

( **A.N. Queue Pokemon references** )

"If I remember correctly," Kirito began. "They give plus 5 speed. Right?" He asked, but at the same time Asuna equipped them to her feet.

"Yeah," she said, looking at Kirito, a sly grin appeared on her face. "Now its time for us to go Shopping!"

"Now? But we haven't even eaten!" Kirito complained.

"I don't care!" She said, dragging him towards the shops. She giggled the entire time he tried to resist, but was rewarded with a kick to the shins...

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Location: Kirito and Asuna's Hotel Room**

 **Time Skip: 2 weeks**

 **Time: 8:30**

Asuna stood over Kirito's bed with a pillow in her hand. She raised it and hit him again and again with the pillow, trying to get the sleeping beauty up.

"COME ON!" She yelled, hitting him again.

"GET," hit him again,

"UP," and again,

"ALREADY!" and one final time.

All this effort, and all she was rewarded with was a moan from Kirito. Sighing, she threw the pillow back onto her bed and threatened Kirito.

"If I don't see you out of this room in 5 minutes, I won't cook for you for a week!" She said in finality. She remembered two weeks ago after they had gotten him his new sword, she threatened him with that and he didn't believe her. So he suffered a week without her cooking.

Kirito's eyes opened immediately, and he rushed to get up but the blanket was wrapped around his ankles, so he ended up face planting onto the floor.

He let the past him and rushed to the table.

"Good boy," she said with a smile on her face.

This was how all their mornings had gone by for the next few weeks. Kirito sleeping, Asuna yelling, then they ate then left to scout out the Dungeons to try and find the Boss for the floor. In the mean time, other players had noticed Kirito with **The Blade of Azure**. Players continuously tried to approach him with offers to sell the sword, but Kirito always declined.

Another week passed and they had found nothing but empty rooms with nothing at the ends of them. The following week, the two of them had started to do quests to get some extra Col, but that is how they lived their days.

Another month had passed when an emergency meeting was being held in the town called Tolbana. Kirito remembered the name of the town and remembered that the boss was in the Dungeon somewhere near there.

The Duo made their way there and found out upon arrival that it was to discuss the Location of the First Floor boss. According to other players, the meeting was going to be led by a guy named Diavel. Kirito thought he recognized that name, but couldn't place where he last heard the name. The town of Tolbana was quite large. Seeing as how it was the town right before the main dungeon, it made a lot of sense. Tolbana had a few places to stay, but its main attraction was the shops.

When Asuna saw the amount of shops, she gasped and looked at Kirito, who in return, grabbed her elbow and pulled her to the meeting place. He was rewarded with Asuna saying, 'You're no fun!' and proceeded to pout like a little girl. Arriving at the meeting, a little late, the guy named 'Diavel' was having a little argument with a shorter guy with orange-ish hair, and a taller darker fellow.

As they approached the meeting, Kirito heard what they were arguing about, and when he did, he stopped dead in his tracks.

"-the Beta Testers! They should give up all their Items and Col to us! Because when this 'Death Game' was announced, they left and found the best items!" A few people were nodding along with the Orange-Haired guy.

"Kibaou," the taller man said, resting a hand on his shoulder. The touch was meant as a warning, and Kibaou took it as one and jumped back a bit. "Do you have one of these?" he asked pulling out the 'Guide'.

"Yeah I do, Who doesn't? It is free at any shop!" he shouted back.

"Then you should know, that the Beta Testers are the ones who put it together, and they were personally handing them out at the shops," he darker name replied. This got Kibaou to shut up. He walked back over to his seat and sat back down, arms crossed in a mocked manner.

"Thank you, Agil," Diavel thanked the taller, darker fellow. "Now, according to the Handbook, the First Floor Bosses' name is **Illang the Kobold Lord**. His choice of weapon is a **Large Bone Axe** and a **Leather Shield**. He had four health bars and when he drops down to 1/3 HP on his last Health bar, he discards his weapon and shield, and uses a **Talwar**. And his attack pattern changes as well," he paused looking around.

"After we split into parties, we will divide our groups among the Boss and his minions," he paused looking back at his Handbook before continuing, "his minions' names are **Ruin Kobold Sentinels**. At the start of the battle there will be three on the field. When ever he looses a bar of health, three more will spawn, making a total of twelve by the end of the battle," he paused one last time looking around. "Any questions?"

Everyone looked around at each other, when they assumed that there were no questions, Diavel continued, "the first boss raid out of 100 will start tomorrow at '10:00'! Be here by '9:30' sharp, we will leave as soon as we can tomorrow, assuming everyone shows up on time. Now, stay for an extra ten minutes, and we will split into Groups."

After 15 minutes, all the groups were established. There were 7 groups, and they were named A-G, depending on with party you were in.

Kirito and Asuna were both in Group E, which was led, much to Kirito's disappointment, by Kibaou. There were a total of 5 in their group. Which is more than Kirito could handle, but needless to say given the circumstances, he would have to deal with it.

* * *

 **Real World**

 **Time: 19:32**

 **Location: Kazuto's Hospital Room**

A few months passed since Kazuto had been trapped in the 'Death Game'. A week ago, the doctors called the Kirigaya residence and told them that they were finally able to come in and visit Kazuto. When they first got to his room, Suguha went to the chair beside him and sat down, and looked at his pale face. He looked like someone sucked everything out of him. He was skinnier than he originally was, and his hair started to come out of the head piece.

When they first got into his room, the doctors pulled Midori aside and informed her of what they had discovered during their testings on the poor boy.

 _Flashback_

Midori left Suguha in his room alone, and went to discuss the doctors' findings with her in the break room. After entering the break room, the doctor, Mrs. Yolkia said,

"Would you like a cup of coffee?" She offered walking across the room to the pot of coffee.

"Yes please," Midori replied, sitting down at the table.

"Cream and sugar?" pouring the coffee in a cup. She prepared one for Mrs. Kirigaya, and the other one for herself. This would be the second time she had to have this conversation with a patients family.

"No, thank you. Black is just fine."

"No problem," she set the cup in front of her and sat down so she was looking at her. She saw the pain of not being able to help her son, but at the same time, Mrs. Yolkia had nothing better to offer.

"I assume you want to dive straight into the details?" to this, Midori nodded while leaning her elbows on the table to try and get closer to her. "Of course. So in the 5 weeks we have had your son, we had a series of tests preformed on him. Note that he wasn't the only one we were testing, we have about 30 other victims in this hospital," she paused sipping her coffee. "So, we established that the Nerve gear has complete control of his brain. If we try to remove it, he will not survive."

Midori only nodded, knowing this information already, and she has had a while to process the pain behind the situation, but she gestured for the doctor to continue.

"When we confirmed this, we performed tests on the Nerve gear itself, and established we can't do a single thing to bring them out. The gear has become their life now. Remove it, have it destroyed, anything of the sort. Nothing we can do will be able to bring him, or anyone back. We don't want to risk it on anyone."

"So what you are saying is, our only hope for them to return to us safely, is if they complete the game their selves?" Midori replied empty-hearted.

"I am afraid so," she dropped her head. "The government created a task force to help out with any issues revolving SAO, but they can't really do much, seeing that they are out here, where the problem is in the gear itself."

"I see," Midori's heart officially broke. The only thing anyone on the outside could do was hope and pray for their return. "Kazuto is strong. He will get through this. I am sure of it," she said more for herself.

"If you believe that to be true, then don't worry a thing about him. If he is as strong as you have been saying, he will make it through," Mrs. Yolkia said, lifting her spirits.

 _Flashback (End)_

Midori returned to the room with a cup of coffee in her hands, looking at Suguha she noticed a smile return to her face.

"Did you bring that for me?" she half joked.

"Next time I get you coffee, I will bring one back for you, seeing as how you like to joke around about it," she laughed, earning a laugh from Suguha too.

"Yeah maybe," she said after she stopped laughing.

20 minutes had passed, when they decided that they better head back home, seeing as visiting hours had finally ended. The walked out of the room after saying their goodbyes, and they closed the door behind them.

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Time: 13:42**

 **Location: Hotel Room in Tolbana**

Shortly after the meeting regarding the First Floor boss had ended, Kirito and Asuna had decided to do some last minute grinding before they went for the boss.

Kirito told Asuna to go on ahead, while he got themselves a hotel room in town, for convince. Seeing as how they had to be here by '9:30' tomorrow morning, he wanted to be somewhere near by. Since they would only be staying at an Inn on the Second Floor, they had no reason to spend more than one night in the Inn. So Kirito spent 50 Col for one night.

He met up with Asuna 10 minutes later in a field surrounding the town of Tolbana, and they trained until night fell. They then retired to their Hotel room, deciding to skip dinner in the process. Getting back in the room, Kirito unequipped all his equipment and replaced it with some comfy clothing he and Asuna bought a few weeks back.

 _Wow_. He thought to himself. _Hate to admit it, but she was right to go on a shopping spree. I don't want to even think about spending the entire day in my battle equipment_. Not wanting to admit to Asuna that she was right, he decided to keep it to himself. He sat down on the edge of his bed and brought up his menu and looked his stats.

He was now officially level 15, with 1,245 Col. He assumed Asuna had much less Col then he did, due to her shopping sprees that happened every couple hours. He looked back at his Col and grimaced when he read the number correctly. _Anymore of these shopping sprees, and I will be broke_. He sighed, flopping his back down on his bed. He scrolled through his inventory, and noticed 124/250 Durability.

"I am going to need to get this fixed," he muttered to himself, not noticing Asuna walking in the room as he said it.

"What was that, Kirito-kun?" Asuna questioned, looking at him funny.

"Oh, nothing much," he closed his menu and sat back up. "I was just saying how I need to visit a Blacksmith, so I can have my sword fixed.

"Oh," she sat down at the edge of her bed and looked at Kirito. Kirito was looking at the floor, thinking of his family. His mind immediately went to Suguha. _Sugu_. He thought. _God, she must hate me_. He pinched the bridge of his nose just thinking about the wrath he would endure if he got out of here.

"What's wrong Kirito-kun?" Asuna asked. "Nervous about the Boss Battle tomorrow?"

"No, its not that. But ya, one could consider me nervous," he reopened his eyes and looked at Asuna. Noting that she was very nervous. He couldn't help but pity her, since this was her first major battle. The two of them barely held their own against 'The Dire Wolf Alpha', yet this time there will be 40 more people there to help out.

"Kirito-kun," she started, willing herself to look him in the eyes. "Tell me about the Boss."

He put a hand to his chin and remembered back. " **Illfang the Kobold Lord**..." he drifted off. "If I remember correctly, he was about two meters tall, muscular, and red almost all over."

"Was he hard in the Beta?" she said as her eyes started to drift off.

"Yes," he simply stated. "Though then we only had half the people."

Lie.

During the Boss Raid in the beta, there were over 50 people. This time there were only 44 people. Kirito thought about going off to recruit peoples help, remembering the challenge this Boss would bring, but decided against it because the only way people would help, was to say he was in the Beta. That is one issue he wanted to avoid for a bit.

He looked over at Asuna, and noticed she had lied back down, he listen closely and heard her light snore. He wouldn't tell it to her face, but he heard her snore nearly every night. While annoying at first, he grew to rather enjoy it.

 _Sugu_. He though, while lying back down on his bed. _I will survive this world, just to be able to get the chance to make it up to you_... he threw his fist up into the air and made a jabbing motion with it.

 _The Next Morning..._

Asuna was surprised to see Kirito up already.

Rolling out of bed, she wiped away the droll that built up at the side of her mouth. Afterwards, she got up and went into the Kitchen, still not seeing Kirito anywhere. She looked to the door and noticed a note attached to it saying,

 _Asuna-san,_

 _Went to the Local Blacksmith's Shop._

 _Would of woken you but you don't need anything to get sharpened._

 _If it is already '9:15', go to the meeting without me, and tell them_

 _I will be a bit late, but will catch up._

 _Kirito._

She noticed where he signed his name a scribble at the beginning. She made out a 'Ka' but that was it. She looked at the time and it read '9:03'. Her eyes widened in the realization that should be running late, so she made herself a quick breakfast and raced out the door. Only after equipping her weapons.

At '9:30', Asuna told their 'leader' that Kirito would be a bit late. Kibaou only grunted and started to walk down the path to the dungeon. She over heard Kibaou saying that Groups A and B would be clearing the path on the way to the Boss Door, so they wouldn't have to worry about losing and HP.

When they were about to go into the dungeon, Kirito popped out from behind Asuna, startling her.

"Hey!" she said slapping his shoulder. "Don't scare me!" again she hit him. Kibaou looked back and saw Kirito and grunted. He was suspicious about Kirito, but not one that he would admit to anyone with a bit of proof. He thought that Kirito was a Beta Tester, seeing as how Kirito had the best sword he has seen so far.

After another 20 minutes, they had finally reached the Boss Room, since the Leader of Group A had a map of the dungeon, it made it easy to navigate their way through.

As they opened the Door, they walked into a room that was about 20 meters wide, and about 100 meters deep. As they walked in, they all disbursed throughout their half of the room. At the end of the room, they noticed a huge Throne that was occupied. Seeing his guests, they thing on the Throne looked up and jumped halfway across the room, landing 40 meters away from them, letting out a loud howl. Startling a few people, it hadn't occurred to the players to draw their weapons, that is until Diavel ordered them too.

Kirito already had his drawn, as did Asuna. Kirito's Blade glowed a faint blue, but it held its own. **Illfang** , and his sentinels all engaged in combat.

Noticing this, Diavel shouted out commands. "GROUPS B, C, CHARGE UP AND ENGAGE **ILLFANG** , WHILE A, D AND F, STAY BEHIND THEM AND BE READY TO SWITCH POSITIONS. IN THE MEAN TIME, GROUPS E AND G KEEP THE SENTINELS OFF OF THE REMAINING GROUPS!" He finished his commands.

"Roger!" Kirito said, hearing a few others follow in his foot steps. At this time, Groups B and C engaged **Illfang,** While Kirito's group held off the Sentinels. Kirito noticed they were surprisingly easy. Kirito and Asuna used their simple Switch-method.

Kibaou noticed they didn't need any help, so he said, "You two don't need the help, so keep those bastards off of the rest of us!" he said, taking off to engage **Illfang**. Kirito was appalled by this, but he hadn't had time to say anything, cause he saw **Illfang** , lose a bar of health, meaning more Sentinels would be spawning soon.

"Asuna!" he screamed at her, noticing one spawn slightly to her left, he raised **The Blade of Azure** , and yelled "SWITCH!" and she jumped backwards and out of combat. She simply starred at Kirito with his sword as he made slashes after slashes, making a 4 Hit Combo, on one. Soon after the combo had ended, Kirito jumped backwards avoiding an attack from another one that had spawned. He watched them both shatter, he noticed Group G backing them up. The leader of the group looked back at Kirito at said,

"We got this! You go help that frickin' Kibaou!" he said, looking back at the Sentinels.

"Asuna," Kirito started. She jumped to his side and they ran up the corridor, but stopped short to cover their ears.

"AAAOOORRRUUUGG!" **Illfang** let out a loud roar, and discarded both his **Large Bone Axe** , and his **Leather shield**. He reached to the weapon that was strapped to his back and he drew it.

After he drew it, Kirito noticed Diavel say something to everyone else, and Kirito saw him run up to the Lord alone. He activated a Skill and proceeded to attack. Kirito saw in his Blood thirsty Copper eyes, that he saw him approach, because a second after he leaped into the air.

"Tha- Thats not a **Talwar**! Its a **Nodachi**!" Kirito let out a gasp and screamed out, "DIAVEL!" Kibaou turned back and knew his suspicions were spot on. The look in Kirito's eyes told everyone that he knew what was to come.

Before he could do anything about it, **Illfang** met his **Nodachi** to Diavel's chest, striking a lethal blow. Immediately afterwards, everyone started to attack **Illfang**.

Kirito ran straight for Diavel, and wiped out a Healing Potion. But Diavel's hand stopped Kirito. He looked him in the eyes and Kirito knew.

"The last attacking Bonus?" he started. "You were a Beta Tester too?" he managed.

He only nodded before looking back at the battle. "Do wh-what I coul-dn't. Save- them-" then he shattered in Kirito's arms. Kirito couldn't believe it, but he stood up regardless.

He noticed everyone's reactions about their Leaders death, but they had a job to finish. Grieving would come later. **Illfang** met his next victim, then his next, until his next one was sprawled out on the floor. **Illfang** jumped upwards and made for his killing blow, but Kirito placed his sword on his back, activating **Vertical Strike** , and jumped into the air.

"REACH!" he let out, striking **Illfang** in the air, sending him into a pillar. The man that was soon to be his next victim, was Agil. Kirito landed on the floor and rolled to his feet and called out for Asuna.

"Just like the Sentinels!"

"Right," she said with no trace of nervousness in her voice. After being stunned, **Illfang** got up and noticed the two charging them. **Illfang** sprinted to meet up with them and he swung diagonally at Kirito, to this Kirito parried and yelled,

"SWITCH!" And Asuna took advantage of the Lords opening, landing a 6-hit combo on **Illfang** , he was sent backwards, shortly after, Kirito switched back in but this time, Kirito was a second too slow, and he was met with a fist to his face, sending him flying backwards into Asuna. **Illfang** stood above them, preparing for a final strike. Swinging downwards, **Illfang's Nodachi** was met with Agil's Mace, sending him backwards.

"That makes up even!" The taller, darker man said, looking back at Kirito. He extended an hand to him and pulled him to his feet. Kirito saw that everyone had followed Kirito's lead and held them off. "We will hold them off until you have healed!"

"Th-ank you," he mustered before he ran off. Kirito quickly drank a potion and stood back up. He noticed **Illfang** winning my a landslide. He saw a group of players sprawled out on the floor, and everyone else was too far away to help.

Kirito yelled before taking off, "WATCH OUT!" Kirito made it in just enough time to parry **Illfang** , and he was sent backwards. Asuna appeared at his side and took off with him, this time Asuna took the lead.

She blocked **Illfang's** sword, and Kirito saw an opening, and yelled for her to switch out with him. Kirito charged a **Vertical Arc** , and made contact. His sword started at the bottom, and finished its cut at the nape of **Illfang's** neck. Then a second later, he shattered, marking the end of the battle.

A notification appeared above their heads, that read 'CONGRATULATIONS!'

Kirito was on a knee and his sword was off to his side.

XP: 245

Col: 350

Item(s): 0

Congratulations! You Earned The Last Attacking Bonus!

Item(s): 1

 **Coat of Midnight**

Kirito was panting, trying to catch his breath, when Asuna came up from behind and helped him up. A second later, his notification screen disappeared, then was approached by Agil.

"Congratulations," he said. "We couldn't have won if it weren't for you. You have a way with that sword. This victory belongs to you."

"No-" he was cut off by people commenting.

"Ya man!"

"You saved us!"

"We would have been toast!"

Kirito let himself be spoiled by their words. But it was soon to be interrupted by Kibaou.

"Why?" he shouted, getting everyone's attention. "Why did you let him die? Why did you let Diavel die?" he finished. This earned players to start looking around while whispering.

"Let him die?" Kirito was confused. But Kibaou stood up and continued his rant.

"Just before Diavel died, you said something to him. You knew the Boss' attack pattern and you noticed the change in weapon! Yet you with-held that information from us and let him die! You damn BETA TESTER!" he shouted the last few words.

Kirito was surprised at this. Not by being finally called out for being one, but he was figured out by him of all people. "If you told us what you knew, he wouldn't have died!"

This got the players talking.

Kirito knew only one way to handle it from here out, and it was to completely cut ties from people. _Sorry Asuna-san_. he thought inwardly. Kirito started to laugh.

Asuna wasn't sure where this came from, but she backed away from Kirito, due to the initial change of character. He went from having the usual carefree manner, to having a dark one.

"Beta Tester you say?" Kirito stood up and approached Kibaou. "Don't you dare classify me with those _Noobs_. The Beta was filled with players who barely knew how to level up! Even you guys are way better then they were." Kirito said stopping in front of Kibaou. "During the Beta, I reached floors that the other Beta Tester's only dreamed to reached. I knew the attack pattern of a **Nodachi** , because I have faced countless amount of monsters who wielded Katanas," he looked up with a cold grin on his face, startling Kibaou. "And I know a lot more too!"

"Yo-you! You are worse than a Beta tester... You! You! Your, a CHEATER!" this got the players to start to mumble among themselves. They were talking about how well he had done, but now they were all hating him.

One word stuck out from among them all, and that was 'Beater'. Kirito scrolled through his Inventory searching for one Item.

" 'Beater?' " he continued, "I like than. Yeah, don't go on and call me a 'Beta Tester', call me a 'Beater'." he finished as he selected the item he was looking for. He pressed it, and equipped it.

 **The Coat of Midnight**.

It hung proudly over his body. It was completely black, from head to toe. It hung below his knees, but only in the back, completely exposing the front half of his body. The collar was bigger than you average collar. It covered the entirety of the back of his neck. He smirked on last time at Kibaou, and walked away, clearing a oath among the players as he made his was to his sword. He put it back in its sheath and walked to the Teleporter that would be talking them to the next floor.

Asuna hadn't said a word through this whole ordeal. At first she didn't know what to think, but soon knew what Kirito was doing. She knew he was worrying about being called a Beta tester for a while. He knew of peoples anger towards them. So rather than disagree like he should of, he made a target on his back so people would have a place to direct their anger at.

 _You are such an idiot, Kirito-kun_. She thought. _But you are my Idiot_. Her cheeks blushed at what she had just thought, but let it by her as she chased after Kirito. As she chased after him, she heard people disapproving, but she didn't care. She caught up to him but noticed something different in his eyes.

"Hey, whats wrong?" She mentally slapped herself for saying that, it was a given of what was wrong. "Ha ha, isn't that obvious? Come on Kirito lets go." She reached out and grabbed his elbow to pull him along, but right after she did it, he wiped his arm back.

"Kirito-kun, whats the matter? This isn't like you," she grew worried. But allowed him to explain.

"Asuna-san, you can grow strong here without me," he said, not meeting her gaze. Asuna was thrown back at this statement.

"What do you mean, Kirito-kun? What has gotten into you?" She made a mental note, wondering how long he had been thinking like this.

"You don't need me Asuna-san. You need people in this world that can help you grow. I will only be a burden, since people will be hating me they will be hating you for being with me," he finished explaining before opening up his menu and selecting the Party option.

"Kirito-" she stopped short when she realized what he was about to do. She watch him press the dissolve button. She watched as Kirito's name disappeared from the top of her vision. His shoulder brushed against hers, as he walked passed her, as he went on his way to the next floor...

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Phew... Must hate me for the ending! Eh! Eh! Sorry :(

There we have it. The First Floor is done! 1/100 way done with this story! WOO HOO! But anyways, I have a POLL ON MY PROFILE, that I wan't you guys to go check out and answer. It will seriously help me with the story. And please, DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!

Last note: Please tell me how the battles unfolded. I tried to keep the Boss battle the same in a sense, but I had some main differences.

Other than that, I hope you have a Good Week!


	4. Extra Skill!

**Authors Note:**

Thank you to all who have Favorited/Followed this story. Also thanks to those who have reviewed, I appreciate every review, whether it is hurtful, or not. It all helps me improve my writing.

The main thing I want to address, is since there is a huge gap in Floors that have been shown, I will eventually run out of Ideas for themes of Floors, and Bosses and such. So I would really appreciate people who PM me with ideas of Floor Idea's and Bosses.

I already got a few and I thought they were VERY good ideas! I would never of thought of them.

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing of Sword Art Online. Though my dreams are of it, I sadly do not.**

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 2: Mutaun**

 **Location: Where Floor 1 Connects to Floor 2**

 **Time: 11:45**

Kirito made his way up the stairs, and exited the dungeon of the First Floor. Sighing in relief, he exited the teleporter and found himself on a Mountain overlooking a large, wide-open space. Kirito saw the first town on this floor about a Kilometer away from where he stood.

 _Urbus_. Kirito thought.

Kirito started to make his way down the mountain, and couldn't help but recall what just happened. _Baka! Baka! BAKA_! he screamed to himself. He planned to have it so everyone would take out their anger on him, rather than turn and start attacking, and or maiming each other, but yet in the process he turned a cold shoulder to Asuna. The one person he didn't want to hurt.

 _She must hate me now_. He thought inwardly. He couldn't blame her for it. Kirito had promised her that they would be partners. But yet, he did the worst thing he could of ever have done. He gave her false hope, and that was something he couldn't make up. Ever since they first started to venture together, Kirito was always there to assure her that, everyone would escape this game, yet in the process he had promised her they would get through this together. Seeing her crushed face, made Kirito's heart drop. Kirito dismissed those thoughts and proceeded down the mountain.

After he finally landed on the ground, he started to make his way to Urbus. Every step he took, he couldn't help but think what Asuna was doing. Would she continue? Or would she go back to the Starting Town and rot away her time in here, like she originally had planned? Kirito cringed just thinking about Asuna being held up in a Inn room, crying her eyes out.

Kirito dismissed his thoughts yet again, scolding himself in the process. He was a little more than half way to Urbus, when he turned around and looked back at the Mountain from where he spawned. He noticed the Boss Raiders had started to come out from their daze, and continue on their marry way. Noticing something different in their eyes, Kirito wondered what had happened, to make them so far behind him. He looked their way for another few minutes, trying to find Asuna, but he couldn't spot her. Deciding it was for the best, Kirito turned back around and continued down to Urbus.

Upon arrival, it was as clear as day that Urbus was the main town on the Second Floor. It was about 300 meters in diameter, and in the center of the town, was the teleporter for the floor. Kirito walked up to it, and pressed 'ACTIVATE'. Immediately after he did so, a Notification appeared in front of him saying,

 **"Floor 2, Mutaun, is now available!"**

Kirito smiled to himself and thought, _One floor down_ , 99 more to go. His mind wondered how long this game would take to complete, even if they were ever able to complete it. Kirito looked back up after he dismissed the window, and saw buildings upon buildings. He looked around and saw a few Shops. He approached one after he checked how much Col he had.

3,600 Col.

After talking to the NPC for a bit, he bought a few health potions, and two teleporting crystals. For emergencies of course. At this time, players started to appear in the Towns Square. He noticed a few people he saw in the two months that have already passed, but none that he would consider talking to.

He noticed a few players that were part of the Boss Raid. He saw Agil, the tall dark man who Kirito saved his life not once but twice. Agil made it up to him by saving his life once, but he still owes Kirito for the other time. He continued to glace through the crowd and spotted Asuna among them.

He starred for a few seconds, before looking back at Agil, who had disappeared. _Weird_. Kirito thought. He looked back at Asuna one last time before walking away in the direction of the Inns.

It took Kirito a few minutes to find one, but he eventually walked across a plaza with a large water fountain in the center, and off to the right was the Inns he was searching for. Walking in, he walked up to the counter and engaged in conversation with the NPC. He was almost identical to the last NPC who ran the Inn back in Hanvanah. But his NPC had a handlebar mustache. Upon starting the conversation, the NPC asked Kirito how many beds he wanted in the room.

"Tw-," Kirito stopped himself, but at the same time something dropped inside of him. "Just one is fine, thank you."

"Alrighty! How long you planning on staying? 1 Night is 20 Col! While a week is 100!" The man said. _Wow_ , Kirito thought. _Much cheaper than the First Floor_.

Kirito pondered which to choose. He thought about his goals for the next few days. In the Beta, he had heard from a friend on his, Argo, that there was an Extra Skill Quest somewhere on this floor. He made up his mind that he would start it in the morning. "Just one Night is fine."

Kirito paid for it and went back outside the Inn and found Agil sitting on a bench near the water fountain. Kirito sighed inwardly, and went up to the man.

"Agil," Kirito said, getting the mans attention. Agil looked into the Beater's eyes.

"Kirito? Correct?" Agil asked, earning a small nod from the Beater. Agil decided in this mind to dismiss the title of 'Beater'. On a deeper level, Agil understood why he made that declaration, but on another level, Kirito had done so much for everyone in the Boss Raid, that he couldn't simply be rude to the kid.

"Kirito," the man repeated. "I want to thank you properly for saving my life," Agil finished, extending a hand out to him. Agil originally thought he would decline the gesture, but much to his surprise, Kirito accepted the hand shake, then continued, "if there is anything I can do to repay you, don't hesitate to ask."

Kirito pondered this request. He thought about what he could do. Kirito wasn't the type to ask for help in ANY given case, but there was one thing Agil could do.

"There is something," Kirito said, looking away from the man who raised an eyebrow. "You remember Asuna-san? From the raid?"

"Yeah, the girl who chased after you, then you pushed her away?" Agil said in a matter of fact tone, that made Kirito cringe. "Is that who you are talking about?" The look on Kirito's face gave Agil the answer he was looking for. "Yeah, I am right. What about her?"

It took a few seconds for Kirito to recover, but he continued regardless, "you see, when me and her met, she wasn't doing too good. She was alone and scared. So-"

"-you want me to look after her, until she gets her bearings." Agil finished Kirito's train of thought. Kirito met his gaze and pleaded with his eyes.

"Yes..." Kirito said, looking back at his feet.

"You know Kirito, your not a bad guy," Agil commented while standing up. He placed a hand on Kirito's shoulder and continued, "I understand your distance. You want people to take their anger, that's been building up inside, out on you. Rather than having them lash out on innocent people." Agil said, reading his mind completely.

"Yeah." Kirito said while his cheeks burned. Agil only laughed at this. He withdrew the hand that was on his shoulder and that eased Kirito a bit.

Agil's posture went from playfully laughing to being serious once again, saying "you know, you don't have to take all then anger. Its not your fault we are trapped here."

"I know its not. But people need to focus their anger somewhere. And rather lash out at people who don't deserve it, they should lash it out at someone who can take it!" he defended himself.

"Kirito, there is only so much hatred you can take. Eventually you will break under the pressure," Agil reasoned. Kirito only looked away. He knew Agil was right. He knew Asuna would say the exact same thing if she was the one saying it. But he is being his usual stubborn self. After a few seconds of a pause, Agil sighed and looked away.

"I'll keep an eye on her. I'll make sure she doesn't do anything stupid that would cause her to get into trouble," Agil caved in. He looked back down to the floor. Closing his eyes he shook his head back and fourth. After another few seconds of silence, Agil heard Kirito open and scroll through his menu, until he saw Kirito send him a friend request.

"For information regarding how Asuna-san is doing," he looked at Agil. The look in his face was a mixture of hurt and worry. Pitying Kirito, Agil accepted the friend request and then dismissed the menu.

"Thank you, Agil," Kirito said gratefully. "See you at the Field-Bosses meeting," Kirito finished, walking away and leaving Agil alone to his thoughts.

 _Just how much can you take before you break? Kirito..._ Agil thought before sitting back down on the bench. He rested his head back, and closed his eyes. When he remembered what happened after Kirito left the boss room, made him sad and he knew he had to help keep Asuna safe.

 _Flashback_

The door closed with a _THUD_ behind Kirito. He left Asuna behind, and the look on her face would make anyone's heart sink. You could see the rejection in her face, and at the same time she did nothing to hid it. She turned around and walked back down to the rest of the players for the Boss Raid.

Agil started to walk up to her, to ask if she was okay and all, but before he got the chance to, a certain someone spoke up, adding more drama to the room

"You are better off without him!" Kibaou shouted to Asuna. The look in her face changed from a face of rejection, to one that made Agil shiver in fear.

Pure.

Hatred.

Asuna looked up at Kibaou, and his face went wide. He knew he shouldn't have said anything with one look at her face. He tried to apologize for what he had said, but before he could get one more word out, Asuna stomped her way up to him.

"How," she started to say, trying to gather her thoughts, but her body moved without thinking. She approached him, and continued, "How DARE you!" she raised her right arm across her left shoulder, and back-handed Kibaou.

 _SLAP!_

The noise of her hand meeting his face echoed throughout the hall. Kibaou crumbled in front of her. He started to get up but resisted the urge, due to fear of getting slapped again.

"YOU!" her voice trembled. "YOU!" she repeated. "HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO HIM! NOT ONLY DID HE SAVE YOUR ASS, BUT ALL OF YOUR GUYS' ASSES!" she nearly screamed. Agil looked straight to the floor, he felt ashamed because he let Kibaou trash Kirito, but not only that, Kirito was the one who, not only saved him once, but twice. Agil could do nothing but cringe when he heard Asuna slap him again.

After a few more slaps, Agil mustered up enough willpower to urge forward Doing so, Agil was courageous enough to pull back Asuna, from slapping him again. He picked Asuna up by the waist, and she kicked and flailed her legs to try to reach Kibaou. But Agil pulled her back farther. A few players looked at Kibaou and noticed he dropped down to 3/4 health during the assault.

"Asuna-sama," Agil started, placing her down on the first step. "That is enough. Though I wish I could have a go at him, we should refrain from killing anyone," he said as he knelt down in front of her. A small crowd split between Kibaou and Asuna, more players were in her favor, rather than his.

"Bu-But," she managed. "If it weren't for Kirito-kun," she said, pulling herself back together. "If it weren't for him, we all would be dead." Agil only nodded in agreement.

"I know, he saved my ass twice tonight. I can only imagine that number will increase with more Boss raids to come," he paused. "I am ashamed of myself Asuna-sama. I am ashamed that I let Kibaou treat Kirito like he was the one who stabbed Diavel."

Asuna looked at Agil and was a bit thrown back at his sudden declaration, then she looked at her Rapier. _You promised, Kirito-kun. You promised you would help me get another_. She scolded herself for thinking about that a time like this, but looked back at Kibaou, who was pulling himself to his feet. He looked over to Asuna, and she gave him a glare, to which he jumped a little bit, and looked away sharply.

"During... During the battle," she started to say. "He abandoned me and Kirito to deal with the Sentinels, and he went to fight **Illfang**... He neglected the order of Diavel," she finished with a sigh.

The players around them, started mumbling saying, 'How could he?' and 'Is that true?', but they let it passed them when they saw Asuna get up.

"Thank you, Agil. I probably would of taken off his head if you hadn't stopped me."

"Eh, don't mention it. He deserved a good slapping," Agil chided, who was rewarded by a series of 'Yeahs' and a little giggle from Asuna. He saw her start to go up the stairs and go to the Second Floor.

After she left, people started to catch up to her, saying 'Sorry' and such, but they probably still resented Kirito, and for that Agil blamed himself, because he had never stepped up to say anything.

 _Flashback (End)_

Agil re-opened his eyes. When ever he thought of the face Asuna had on, he she approached Kibaou, he would still shiver in fear. In all his years, he had only seen that face once.

From his wife.

To this day he still hasn't seen her put on that face, and he decided he never wanted to. Agil checked the time and realized it was '5:30'.

 _Just how long have I been sitting here?_ he thought to himself, not knowing the answer. He looked over to where Kirito had disappeared off to, and realized it was in the direction of the Inns. Agil thought, and knew Kirito went to get some shut eye, he deserved it.

He knew that Kirito would be dealing with a lot of cold shoulders tomorrow. There was nothing he could do about it, but let the Beater take the hit. Agil took off in the direction to the Inns as well. After nearly dying twice today, he had to call it a day. So he strolled over to the Inns, and check himself into one, but before doing so he called out into the air.

"Are you satisfied Asuna-sama?" Asuna appeared out from the other side of the fountain. The look in her eyes told Agil that she had heard what she wanted to hear. She looked up at Agil and said,

"Thank you, Agil. I knew that was the reason behind Kirito-kun's distance," she paused while looking in the direction of where he had disappeared. She continued to say, "I just wish I could help him out."

"Don't worry Asuna-sama. Soon enough he will get over being so stubborn, and until then I will help him, help you. I don't owe him enough to play baby sitter," he paused looking away. "I will look out for you until you two are partnered back up. I am a sucker for young lovers," he said seriously. Though Asuna turned bright red.

"We are NOT lovers!" Asuna blushed, approaching him with a warning look in her eyes. Agil held his hands up in a mocked surrender. But stood his ground internally. After Asuna had calmed down, he left her at teh water fountain, and headed to an Inn.

"At least Kirito cares enough to want to make sure I am protected," she considered this a good thing. Though he was and still would be distant, she thought this was a step...

 _Later that night..._

Kirito made it back to his room after his conversation with Agil. After the days antics, he wanted a decent nights of sleep due to a certain quest he would be partaking on in the morning. He opened the door to the bedroom and looked inside. He at first saw two beds. One was empty, while the other one was occupied. He shook his head and the extra bed disappeared.

"Weird..." Kirito muttered out loud. Kirito sat down on his bed and opened up his 'Friend Menu' and scrolled through all four of his friends.

Asuna. Was the one at the top.

Klein. His first friend in the list.

Agil. Was there for information on Asuna.

And Argo. The morning of the First Boss Raid, which was this morning, Kirito made a pit stop and found Argo. During the Beta, she was the person to go see whenever you needed information. She took this job seriously.

She would venture out in the mornings to go out and collect information, only to return to town and sell out for a chunk of Col. He needed information about a Quest he was planning to go on, and needed her help.

 _Argo,_

 _If you remember in the Beta, there was a Hidden Skill on this floor._

 _As usual, if you have information on it I will for it._

 _Meet me tomorrow at 10:30 at the Water Fountain Plaza._

 _-Kirito_

He pressed the 'Send' button and lied down on his side, starring at the wall. He couldn't figure out what had been keeping him up. Either the fact that he was for once alone, or the fact that he was waiting for a reply back from Argo.

After pondering it, he finally decided what he did to Asuna was the best choice. Though in the end it only hurt her, it was better than having her watch him die, or the other way around.

Kirito cringed at the thought of her dying.

A message popped up, pulling Kirito out of his thoughts. He pressed the yellow Icon, and read the message from Argo.

 _Hello Kiri-kun!_

 _Of course I remember the quest, I in fact was meaning to get it._

 _But of course I would be willing to sell you the information_

 _of the location of the hut!_

 _-Information Dealer_

Kirito sighed at her signing. Kirito always knew she had a thing for that title, but he never expected her to stick with it past the Beta. Kirito rolled back onto his back, and found a nice spot on the ceiling to look at.

Sleep eluded Kirito for most of the night, but finally his eyes had enough of it, and he went to sleep.

 _The Following Morning_

Asuna woke up with a start.

She shot right up into sitting position, while her head was covered in sweat. Throughout the entire night, nightmares consumed her dreams. Mainly they were of her families reaction to her death. How they would grieve over her grave, or at her bedside, but this time it was watching Kirito die, right in front of her.

She looked at the time and it read '10:00'.

Usually he was reckless. He would always charge into battles, head held high, but Asuna worried that his arrogance would make him fight something, or someone that he could not match.

Needless to say, she got up and quickly left the room in which she was staying in. Her mind was to preoccupied to even consider having a breakfast, so she decided to go to the towns vendors, to buy some supplies she should be needing. She walked down the streets and found the first vendor and approached it. Her mind was still shaken up, that she didn't even hear Agil calling out her name.

"-una-sama?" Agil said, jolting her out of her thoughts.

"Huh?" She muttered, snapping her head to the tall man. "Oh! Hello Agil," she said politely, returning her attention to the vendors supplies.

"How you holding up?" he asked, concerned. Much to his surprise, she said a quick 'Good', without even thinking about who or what he was talking about.

"Oh!" She looked his way once more. "You mean about Kirito-kun?" Agil only nodded back to her. "Better, now that I understand it. Thank you for letting me eavesdrop on your conversation with him," she thanked him, remembering Kirito's and Agil's conversation from the night before at the fountain. She continued without getting a reply back, "But you don't have to look over me though."

"Yeah, I realize that, but I owe Kirito much more than I owe you. So I will proceed to make sure you don't go out there and die. Until I know for a fact that you can take care of yourself," Agil reasoned, while insisting to pay his debt back to Kirito.

"There is no convincing you other wise is there?" to this, Agil only nodded, agreeing that he would repay Kirito, regardless of her convictions.

Asuna sighed and looked back at the NPC, she proceeded to buy a few health potions from the vendor, and left and went into the wide open area, just outside of town. Much to her dismay, Agil proceeded to follow her.

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 2: Mutaun**

 **Location: Fountain Plaza**

 **Time: 10:35**

Kirito arrived at the meeting point a bit early.

He had been so used to Asuna waking him up in the morning, that he just seemed to be able to roll out of bed, without any trouble anymore. But he was only about to, when he had a good enough reason.

 _The Extra Skill... Martial Arts_. He thought to himself while closing his eyes slightly. The hidden skill was one of the many hidden skills. Some were obtainable through quests, but others are awarded to specific players. This skill contained a few skills in itself.

During combat, this extra can serve as a back-up, in case of a situation where you are being attack and you were previously unarmed by the opponent. During the Beta, he saw a couple players use such skills. The one Kirito remembered most was the skill called **Embracer**. This skill envelops you hand in a glowing yellow light. It enables the user to strike a fatal blow using just their hand.

It would be considered a one hit KO, but the window that the skill would have effect is so low, it is rendered an unused skill. To use, you must be close enough to make contact, but it can be easily dodged.

"Kiri-kun," Argo said, tapping his shoulder in an attempt to awake him from his daze. In succession, Kirito turned around and saw Argo tapping his shoulder. Her black hair feel loose to the sides of her face, while a hood covered the rest of her head. In the Beta, she earned markings on her face that resembled that of a cat, but now she puts them on for the fun of it.

"Normally, one could just say Hello, but seeing as how all you care about is making deals, why don't we skip to that part of this conversation?" Kirito stated coldly.

"Ow," she put on a face of hurt, but quickly dismissed it as quick as it appeared. "You know me so well Kiri-kun!" She pulled up the map of this floor. Kirito starred in amazement, as he saw more than a fourth of the second floor already filled in.

They just started this floor not even 24 hours ago, and yet she already had quite a bit of the map filled in. But then again, Kirito wasn't surprised. He knew she had a thing for collection information like a rabid dog, just to come back to town to sell it off.

"I remember players saying the quest was somewhere over here," Kirito pointed to a mountain about 1 kilometer away from town.

"Ara, ara," she quipped. "Thank goodness you have me. No," she said flatly, but continued her explanation, "this is where the hut is," pointing to a mountain further off in the distance.

"Makes sense. I wouldn't think Kayaba would want everyone to get this skill..." Kirito said as he put a hand to his chin. Without meaning it, he assumed that this skill would have a limit of players who could get it.

"Say Argo, since this has become a game to the death, wouldn't Kayaba make it so only a certain amount of people can learn this skill?" Kirito asked, as Argo dismissed the maps window.

"I thought the same thing, but I don't want to be the one who won't get it," she said closing her eyes. Snapping them back open she looked at Kirito who still had a hand to the tip of his chin, she continued to say, "say, Kiri-kun."

Snapping out of his thoughts, he looked back at her and said with no emotion, "What?"

"Would you like to do this quest with me?" Argo asked, already knowing his answer, she decided to give it a shot.

"No," he simply stated. "I am going Solo now, I assume you heard my new title by now," he finished, looking off into the distance, he noticed players starting to roam around the plaza, talking to other players. Some were making trades, while others were heading off into the fields.

"Aye. 'Beater'," she said while wondering, "why is that by the way?"

"During the Boss Fight, I was outed as a Beta tester. A player named Kibaou continued to ramble on about me, then deciding that I was a 'Cheater' on top of a Beta Tester. So someone pt the two words together. 'Beater'," he repeated.

Argo could see the pain in his eyes. Even if he declared himself a 'Beater', she could see that he didn't like the fact that everyone was directing their anger out on him. Since being on this floor for the last day, she had heard a lot of people cursing the 'Beater'. Though many never met Kirito, they were cursing him for killing Diavel.

During the second month on the First Floor, Diavel grew quite popular and well liked. Even though he too was a Beta Tester, people still liked him.

Argo looked away from Kirito, and decided to help him out.

"Since we are ol' Pals, I am giving you this information, for no price at all," she said pulling up her map information. After a few presses of buttons, Kirito's Menu lit up asking if he accepted his trade.

Kirito was shocked at this gesture. He couldn't figure out if this gesture was out of pity for his situation, of if it is because they were friends back in the Beta. What ever her motives were, he accepted the transaction, before ruining the mood. He looked up at her ans said,

"Hey, where is the Argo who was keen for making deals? Did you leave her back in the Beta? Or have you really gone soft?" he said smirking at her.

Argo's cheeks puffed out in an attempt of acting like her feelings were hurt. "Kiri-kun, you meanie!" she said smacking his head. After a few seconds of being assaulted, Kirito got up and walked up, waving a hand in a 'Goodbye' gesture, leaving Argo alone to her self. She couldn't help but yell out at him saying,

"WHAT? NO 'THANK YOU'?!"

"Thank you!" he yelled back, though it was only to please her.

Walking through Urbus, Kirito noticed everyone starring at him, muttering things to one other. He just sighed, looked forward, and tried to ignore the glaces he was getting his way. Out of the corner of his eye, he say Kibaou. The only thing Kirito did, was shoot him a death glace, which Kibaou quickly looked away, as if afraid of him.

Passing through town, he made another stopped at the vendor, but when he got to the stand, people parted from the vendor, to either give Kirito the space, or they didn't want to get in his way. Either way he got what he wanted from the stand in a shorter time than anticipated.

Putting the health potions in his bag, he made his way out of town, while pulling up his map to plan a way to the mountain. Kirito stopped right before he got out of town. He looked more closely at the map, and made the assumption that this quest would take longer than originally planned, noticing a long path that led up the mountain.

Continuing on his way, he looked out towards the mountain, and began his track to it.

* * *

 **Real World**

 **Location: Kazuto's Hospital Room**

 **Time: 14:30**

Once a week, Suguha was allowed to visit Kazuto alone, the other 2 times she was accompanied by her mother, Midori. Every single week, she would come right after school, scan in in the the front lobby, and stay until '6:00' or '7:00'. She would do either do her homework, while talking to Kazuto about her day, or she would talk to him about what he probably would of been doing if he weren't trapped in the game.

This week, something had been nagging her.

 _Why?_ She had the thought of why he decided to put on that Nerve gear that day.

Ever since she had taken up Kendo for Kazuto, he had promised he would attend every single Kendo event she had, but yet the day he put on that Never gear, she had a Kendo championship that day. After the practice, she would have had to go on a bus to the event.

But Sensei understood her absence.

He had made the officials postpone it a week, due to the incident. Suguha wasn't the only sibling or child of the Sword Art Online incident.

So for the past week, she had been hating that Nerve gear for stealing her brother from this world.

"Why do you like the Virtual World so much, Onii-chan?" Sugu asked the comatose boy. She looked at Kazuto with curiosity. "Is it because you can start anew? Have no one know who you are? Your past?" With each question she asked out loud, more questions popped up. And with each new question, she wanted to know the answers to the question.

All over the news, they have been covering the incident, but lately they have been mentioning a new piece of equipment that had recently been leaked out by a facility.

Apparently they are trying to make the Virtual World a thing, even though of the huge incident that has been all over the news, they still think they can get people to buy it. Though some information had been leaked, nothing regarding its safety has been leaked to the press.

"The Amusphere?" Suguha said out loud. "I truly wonder why you were so drawn to _that_ world," she said while gathering her bag, and leaving the room.

She left the room with a new topic on her mind. Rather than loathing the Virtual World, she was now curious about it. Completely dismissing her original hatred...

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 2: Mutaun**

 **Location: Base of The Mountain for the Extra Skill**

 **Time: 12:36**

"EEEOOORHHHH!" a monster on the second floor screeched, while charging at Kirito. Kirito charged too, drawing his **Blade of Azure** , he met the **Trembling Ox** and side stepped quickly and slashed its side, making it panic as it tried to change its direction of attack.

Failing at doing so, it fell down onto the dirt and slid to a stop. Kirito slid to a stop, and charged a **Vorpral Strike** , and made contact. The **Ox** grunted in defeat, before shattering, marking the end to the battle. Kirito took a second to catch his breathe, in doing so he looked back in the direction of the town, and saw the outline of the crater it rested on.

"Weird, I didn't see that before..." Kirito said to himself. After noticing, he looked back to the mountain, when he got a message from Agil.

 _Yo Kirito!_

 _I'll put your mind at ease, when I say that she is fine._

 _But she was telling me about you and her little adventures,_

 _and she mentioned that you owe her a new Rapier._

 _She is dead set on it man. If I were you I would consider_

 _getting her one._

 _~Agil_

Kirito sighed to himself, before dismissing the message. He continued his track to the base of the mountain. He took one last look over his shoulder, noticing players had started to come into the fields to grind for XP. Kirito looked at his Level and Col.

 _Level 17_... Kirito thought he would be good enough with his level. Before he looked at his col, he still noticed it had taken a huge hit before he parted from Asuna. He regained almost half of it, with a total amount of 5,601.

"Geese," he let out. He looked up and saw nothing but rock. "This will be fun," he said to himself sarcastically. He started out on his hike, not knowing how long it would take.

 _Two Hours Later_...

Half expecting to be almost there, Kirito slung his body to a rock that was protruding from the mountain. His legs all but collapsed, while sitting down.

During the entire hike, his mind only thought of the real world, and what his sister/cousin was doing right now, not knowing she was sitting at his side. Looking off into the distance, he was able to make out a town that he only assumed was Urbus. From this height, he could see the crater it was settled in, in great detail. He looked off, and noticed a smaller town farther off, but before the town, there was a large open field that elevated to a higher height, and on the elevated field, he noticed a small den.

Kirito made a mental note to himself, saying that that was where the field boss resided. Kirito pulled up his friends menu and clicked Agil's player name. He noticed he was back in Urbus, while earlier he and Asuna were in the fields grinding for XP.

Clicking his most recent message, he tapped 'Reply', and typed a message.

 _Agil..._

 _Tell her I will get around to it, but the_

 _reason I am replying back is because I_

 _found the den of this floors field boss, organize_

 _a meeting in a few days, by then I will be done with_

 _my side-quest._

 _~Kirito_

Pressing the 'Send' button, he lied his back against the wall behind him and rested for a few more minutes before deciding it was time to continue his hike...

After reaching the top after another two hours, Kirito checked the time, and it read '4:24'. Surprisingly, Kirito's legs were able to make it to the top safely, but they weren't so lucky when his body realized he was there.

His legs collapsed in exhaustion.

Upon hitting the floor, Kirito realized just how tired he truly was, but decided to stay down on the ground, deciding not to move. After a few minutes of starring into the sky and catching his breathe, he regained his footing and approached the long awaited hut. The hut stood on a solid foundation that rested on rocks. The mountain had a little alcove where the hut was, so entering he was shielded from the blazing sun.

He walked into the house and approached the NPC that was making a pot of tea on the stove.

"Good evenin'" the old man said, turning around. Kirito was amazed at how life like the man looked. His tag read " **Old Man of the Mountains** ", and that he was. He had a clear hunch, and his beard looked like it hadn't been cleaned or groomed in weeks, as it had visible dirt in it. The man gestured for him to take a seat, and that he did.

"Hello," Kirito said after he took a seat. Without asking, the man took the tea off the stove, and poured Kirito a cup of tea, as if he knew he wanted some.

"Seeing as how your journey to his ol' hut was a long one, you ought to be thirty," he grunted sitting opposite of Kirito. Kirito agreed, but in his mind he thought, _No Joke_. Sighing the man continued to talk away, "If I remember correctly, you are here to help me clear out those pesky rocks!" he said while pointing out the window to a huge pile of boulders. A notification window popped up in front of him and it read,

"Do you accept the quest of **Yard Duty**?" Kirito sighed and wondered if Argo purposefully sent him up here as a joke, but decided not to think about that until he knew it to be true. After he pressed 'Accept', the man continued saying,

"Thank you, young man! Though to complete this, that stick of yours won't do squat! You are gonna have to do this by hand!" he old man declared.

After saying this, Kirito got a notification saying, "Accept this Hidden Skill: **Martial Arts**?" Kirito had a mental party in his head, declaring his efforts were about to pay off. He accepted immediately afterwards, and exited the hut, approaching the boulders of rocks. Inspecting the boulders, he tried to conjure a plan on how to destroy it, and since he previously had never had the skill, he didn't know how to operate the action.

Kirito Mindlessly took up a stance and thought he activated the skill, but when he wound up and punched the boulder, a sharp pain flared up his hand.

"SHIT!" Kirito yelled, withdrawing his hand back to him.

He knew if the old man wasn't an NPC, he would be laughing. Kirito re-approached the boulder and tried different poses and stances, but they all ended in failure.

20 minutes passed, and no luck had shown and all he had was a swollen hand, so he decided to take a quick breather.

During Kirito's track up here, he remembered Agil sending him another message, but he figured he was close to the top so he should wait, after he reached the top it completely escaped his mind. Drawing open his menu, he opened the message Agil had said and read it to himself.

 _Yo Kirito!_

 _I will organize it, but I would need_

 _more details to go on from it. If you don't_

 _show up I don't think I could play it off._

 _Plus I think you should tell me the information_

 _in advanced, due to your previous afflictions, I_

 _don't think people would ready their weapon to_

 _your aid. Plus, seeing how the last field-boss raid_

 _went, I don't think we shouldn't go in prepared. So_

 _we should organize a scouting party of you, me and_

 _maybe a few others..._

 _Meet tomorrow after noon at 12:00, and we can_

 _scout shortly afterwards._

 _~Agil_

Dismissing the message, Kirito pondered his idea. He admitted that it was a good one, but since he had been labeled a 'Beater', Kirito assumed anyone would cast him aside if in a scouting party, or blame him if anything bad were to happen. _Suck it up Kirito!_ he thought inwardly. _You aren't in this to make friends! You need to get out!_ Something in Kirito fought. _I know! But I have to help out those who can't help themselves!_ He fought. _No! You are the only one that matters! Don't get all puppy-eyed for that girl!_

 _CRACK!_

The boulder in front of Kirito cracked, making a huge dent in the center of it. Looking down at his hand, he realized something inside him took over and pounded the boulder. Winding his arm up again he pounded it once more, hoping it would work.

 _CRACK!_

Again another dent. This time Kirito charged a bit longer, and released another hit, but this time his hand attacked the boulder rapidly.

 _CRACK!_

 _CRACK!_

 _CRACK!_

With one final hit, the boulder smashed to pieces. Breathing heavily, a notification window appeared telling Kirito he had completed the quest. It wasn't till after, that he realized it was 8:00 at night.

"How long was I fighting with myself?" he asked out loud.

Suddenly the hut door opened and the old man came out of the hut clapping his hands.

"Marvelous! Can't believe I saw someone so young smash that rock with the Skill **Embracer**! Thank you young man, I will leave you the Hidden Skill: **Martial Arts** , to you. Use it wisely," he said walking back into the hut.

Kirito still couldn't believe it. He didn't know what to make out of his sudden anger, or the fact that something inside of Kirito was fighting him.

"Probably just tired," he said out loud, while his eyes started to close shut. Kirito opened his menu and brought out a blanket and pillow he had bought back on the first floor. Kirito's eyes started to drift to sleep, until his thoughts about the future started to envelop his mind, making him stay awake longer...

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 2: Mutaun**

 **Location: Urbus**

 **Time: 21:06**

"No Asuna-sama, you are not coming with Kirito and I!" Agil pleaded, unsuccessfully.

"Agil, I am coming with you two! I don't care if I you think I shouldn't go or not! I am going with you two!" She declared with finality, while slamming the door shut in his face. She looked back into her Inn's room and sighed.

Agil was dead-set on Asuna not coming with Kirito and Agil, at first she assumed he thought it would be too dangerous, and she would most likely get hurt, but she later figured out he thought Kirito needed more time to himself to figure things out, and with her there it would just complicate things further.

 _I don't care_. Asuna thought. "He can suck it up. I am not the only one here that needs protection," she said out loud, before walking into the bedroom. Upon opening the door, the room felt empty.

Last night was the first sleepless night she had gotten in a month. The first month of the 'Death Game', she had been restless due to fear. She originally feared for her own life, but developed concern for Kirito's well being. After all they had been through in the few months, she assumed they would stick together until they escaped this. But that dream was crushed when he left her at the door.

He put on a tough face for everyone to see, when deep inside he was just as broken as she was. When he realized his limit, he broke. When that happened, she knew he wouldn't be able to walk his path alone, but he insisted on it. Going as far as pushing her out of his life.

She rested her head on her pillow and slowly slipped into another restless nights of sleep...

 _The Next Day..._

 _That afternoon..._

Agil and Asuna waited at a small cafe Asuna had picked out. After she had, Agil messaged Kirito to meet them there, and much to Kirito's dismay, he accepted while not knowing Asuna was there. The cafe was small. It had four tables and a counter. When they arrived, no players have occupied the tables, so they ordered a small drink and waiting for their 'Beater' to arrive.

Kirito walked in five minutes after they had. He spotted Agil immediately, but hadn't seen Asuna because she was hidden by the seat she sat on. Kirito approached the table, but when he saw Asuna, he stopped.

It took Agil and Asuna a few seconds to realize he was there, but when they did Asuna looked at Kirito once, and looked back at her drink. After another few seconds of awkward silence, Agil broke it.

"Arhem! Hey Kirito," he played it cool pretending nothing was wrong with this, but Kirito told Agil with his eyes, ' _Why did you bring her?'_

Agil answered out loud saying, "She brought herself. I got to hand it to you Kirito, you snagged a keeper," he said with a wink, earning a blush from them both. "Ha ha!" Agil burst into laughter.

"Well," Asuna started. "I am here for the scouting of the field-boss, nothing more," Asuna replied while embarrassed. Kirito still hadn't said a word. He only looked at Agil with hatred, trying to convey a ' _You didn't stop her?!'_

 _ **"**_ Kirito-kun! I know you made Agil protect me!" she stated bluntly. "But that is an argument for another time, right now what do you know about the field-boss?" Kirito continued to stand up, even though Asuna scooted over a bit to make room for him, but he continued to stay where he was.

"Ehh-em!" clearing his throat, he started his explanation. "While taking on a quest, I noticed a large Den in the middle of the field. It is about 10 kilometers away from Urbus, but only about 2 kilometers from the next city," Kirito explained. "And as Agil said, we ought to know more information on this field-boss before we go in on a little raid."

Asuna looked at Kirito, who returned her gaze. The look in his eyes were gentle, but yet they held concern. Whether that concern was directed at Asuna, and the fact that she might get hurt, or if the concern was directed at what the future would hold. If even the field-bosses needed to be planned out, what would the actual Boss be like?

Agil noticed something in Kirito's eyes. Something he wasn't telling Agil and Asuna, but he with held the information. "Kirito," Agil began, breaking their eye contact.

"Yes Agil?" Kirito broke the gaze and looked at the tall man.

"Since you were in the Beta, wouldn't you know something about the field-boss, something you aren't telling us?" Agil asked, he noticed he struck a nerve with him. But Kirito reluctantly answered.

"Yes, its name is ' **The Raging Torment Ox** '," Kirito told, breaking eye contact. "It is a huge Ox, about 2 meters tall. It is your average **Ox** monster on his floor, but with massive horns. It charges just like the rest of them, but if people dodge his charge, he will focus his attention on one single player, and will change direction as if it were as small as an ant," he paused before continuing, "there is no way to break his charge. In the Beta what we did was have it ram into a wall. But when we did that it broke the wall, making it have a huge field to maneuver around in."

"Wow," Asuna said in shock. "And to think that this is the Second Floor. I can't even imagine what the 90th floor will have in store for us..."

"But how will we be able to get information on it if we won't be able to escape?" Agil asked. Kirito dug into his pocket and fished out a Teleporting Crystal and tossed it to Agil.

"With this," Kirito said closing his eyes. "There is rarely a place where you can't use that."

"So are we going or what?" Asuna said, making Kirito reopen his eyes to stare at her. He knew she would be on board with this almost immediately. Kirito looked back at Agil looking for his response. Seeing the look on his face, he was on board with it, as long as there was a safe way out.

"As long as this crystal works," he tossed the crystal back at Kirito.

Catching it he replied, "Then lets get too it. I want to clear this floor by the end of the week. Giving us four days," he started to walk out the door before sending them both a party invite.

Asuna accepted right away, but Agil hesitated. "Why the end of the week?"

"Better to get this floor out of the way, and plus there is something on the Third Floor I have to do," he said leaving it at that.

With that, Agil accepted and they all walked out of the cafe...

 _Outside the Field-Bosses Den..._

Kirito, Asuna and Agil quietly approached the den of the Second Floor field boss. Scaling across 10 kilometers, tired the three of them out. Agil and Kirito could take it, but Asuna was breathing heavily. Before heading into the den, they all stopped so she could catch her breathe, but that took longer than anticipated.

Before arriving, the three had discussed their plan on the walk there. They would all walk in, with weapons in hands, and test out maneuvers to avoid the charge of the **'Torment Ox** '. Kirito suggested that they also test its defense and reaction time, so they would get a better idea than what the Guide Book had to say about it. Kirito had talked to Argo the previous night and asked her what she knew about the field-boss. She only told him that she knew just as much as he did, yet stating that she remembers it from the Beta, and knew to stay clear of it.

Once Asuna could breathe easier, they approached the Field-Boss, but with crystals in hand to make for quick escape. As soon as they were inside its den, the Field-Boss sensed their presence, and it snapped its head toward the party.

' **The Raging Torment Ox** ', just as Kirito had stated. It was much taller than **Illfang** , but the aura it was giving off screamed ' _Run!_ ', but Kirito suppressed the urge to turn around and bolt out of here. The boss wore 2 Health bars, and its tusks were easily 10 feet long.

Kirito gulped. "He is similar to the Beta! But not exactly the same!" Kirito warned. But the **Ox** did what it always did best,

Charge.

Aiming straight for Kirito, he rolled out of its way and swung **The Blade of Azure** so it was in front of his face. Kirito knew best not to stand still, as he realized the **Ox** made a sharp turn and started to head for Kirito once more. Kirito jumped to the side and continued running just to test the **Ox** 's reaction time. And needless to say, it was flawless.

Given its size, anyone would assume it would be hard to turn around for it, but its back legs halted to a stop and quickly made a short pounce to turn itself around.

Kirito noticed the only flaw in this Field-Boss, it only targeted one opponent.

 _This would give everyone else a chance to attack its sides._ Kirito noted.

"Agil! Asuna-san! I know its flaw! Lets get out of here," Kirito said before teleporting back to Urbus. Upon arrival, he rolled out of the teleporter, and landed on his butt. Getting up he brushed himself off and awaited his party to come back. A few seconds passed when he saw Asuna fly out of the gate, crashing into Kirito.

"Ow! Ow!" Kirito said sitting up, noting her arms were around his neck. He helped her stand back up when she started to apologize for landing on him. "Don't worry about it, Asuna-san." He assured her. He was oblivious to Asuna's face as it was blushing like crazy.

"Aren't you two so cute," Agil said appearing behind them. Earning a sharp blush from both parties, but Asuna's face burned even harder. Kirito brushed it off, while her red cheeks stayed intact.

"Shut up Agil," she blushed even more when she thought about it. Kirito motioned them to follow to a place where they could talk quietly, and with minimum people over hearing. He lead them to the cafe the three of them met earlier today. Ordering a water, Kirito sat down next to Agil, while opposite of Asuna. Upon receiving his water, he took a quick sip before explaining what he had concluded.

After 10 minutes of Kirito explaining how to overcome the Field-Boss, Agil and Asuna agreed to that fall back of it, only targeting one player, would mean they would have to dodge until they the rest was able to defeat it.

"Easy enough," Agil said sitting back in his chair.

"No its not," Kirito retorted. "You are forgetting you weren't the one getting chased by it. After dodging it for a couple minutes, I can say that it winded me out. One mistake and it would be a fatal blow. Doubt it would kill, but it would most certain knock the player out for a few seconds, making it be able to take advantage of the opening, killing the player," Kirito stabbed his fork through the table as he finished his explanation.

"Oh, I didn't think about that..." Agil trailed off, considering the consequences. "Yeah, that does complicate things... Later tonight, I will make an announcement using 'The Global Messaging System', though it does cost 1,000 Col per shout, I got to get the shout right..." Agil trailed off, after drawing open his messaging system he opened up the Global communication system and continued to say, "well Kirito... Your meeting... Your message. Tell me what to say."

"Ok hmm..." Kirito thought about it before making up his mind. " 'Good Afternoon Players! Some of you might know me from the First Floor Boss Raid, but for those of you who don't I am Agil' ," Kirito paused waiting for Agil to catch up. As he typed the last words, he made a gesture for Kirito to continue, " 'Earlier today, my party and I discovered the Field-Bosses Den, and I would like to discuss an action plan so we may continue to the next town, in the hopes to complete this floor by the end of the week' ," pausing again, Kirito opened his menu and inspected his **Blade of Azure** , and after upgrading it to have 1,000 Durability, he had worn it down to 462. _Going to have to fix before tomorrow's raid_... He thought.

"Continue Kirito," Agil ushered him to continue.

"Okay, Um... 'I would like anyone available to gather in the Towns Square in Urbus located on the Second Floor. Be there by 10:00 tomorrow morning. Thank you to those who come' ," Kirito stopped. "That good enough?" Kirito asked.

"Yeah, that was good," Agil said pressing send. After asking if he wanted to send it, Agil pressed 'Confirm', and Kirito got a message in the top of his screen. Clicking it, he reread it quickly, already knowing what it had to say. Checking the time, Kirito realized it was only '6:42'. He thought if he got a quick dinner in, he would be able to do a last minute grind to get to level 18 before the meeting tomorrow.

"Okay guys, I want to level up before the meeting tomorrow, so I will catch ya guys later," he started to get up but Asuna's hand shot out and grabbed a hold of his hand, before he could make haste and leave.

"You are not going out training alone!" Asuna declared. Kirito started to protest, but decided against it and sat back down. It was as clear as day, that Kirito and Asuna still have to have a talk to settle what was said, and not said back in the Boss room, but Agil decided he would tell Kirito later, when Asuna wasn't watching over them.

"Kirito, that reminds you, what level are you?" Agil asked, looking over to him. Kirito simply took a sip of water while drawing open his menu. He displayed his profile information to both of them, revealing he was level 17, soon to be 18. "Damn son! I only just reached level 13. What of you Asuna?"

"Just reached level 15 earlier today..." She trailed off.

"Wow! Oh right I forgot you too were partne-" Agil stopped when he saw Asuna's face turn away in sadness. While Kirito's face remained unchanged, but you could tell in his eyes he loathed his idea of going solo. "Never mind..."

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 2: Mutaun**

 **Location: Urbus**

 **Time: 10:00**

When the time struck '10:00', Agil and Asuna were in the center of the meeting area. While Kirito sat far off to the side of the area to avoid major conflict.

A few players were there before '10:00', but after '10:00', people started to show up in groups of people. Kirito remained unfazed by the amount of people who had come out to this meeting. He knew sooner or later people would start to realize no one would be able to escape the 'Death Game', unless some people started to step up and help clear the game.

Although Kirito remained unfazed, Asuna was a bit shocked by the amount of people who had come out to hear them out. After another 5 minutes, Agil soon realized not much more were coming, so he decided to commence the meeting.

"Good morning," Agil addressed everyone. "I am happy to see so many people come out to help out with this Field-Boss. My party and I established that we would be needing the assistance. Rather gather a few players ourselves, one of us decided to send out a message to try to get many players. So needless to say, I am glad to see so many.

As this game goes on, many challenges will come our way, so rather than deal with them single-handed-," Kirito knew this little speech was directed at him, but he continued to listen to what Agil had to say. "-we should come together to clear this game, once and for all," Agil paused to let this sink in. Many people agreed to this statement. Some even clapped. But one person had the nerve to call out,

"Tell that to the Beater!"

"Enough about him!" Agil shouted. "In fact he is the one who decided to involve everyone here. He is the one who devised the plan about the Field-Boss. So rather trash him, you ought to shut up! You shouldn't talk someone down until you understand where they come from," Agil enforced. Asuna knew this was Agil's way of making up for the fact that he hadn't said anything when everyone was trashing Kirito.

Kirito was just as shocked as everyone else was.

"Moving on, the Field-Bosses name is ' **The Raging Torment Ox** '. He has 2 health bars, and is about-" Kirito focused on the crowd during Agil's retelling of everything Kirito had told him. Some people had noticed Kirito, but said nothing. While others were focusing on Agil's lecture. Kirito counted about 31 players. Give or take a few.

"-Now for the plan," Agil paused looking at everyone. "I will let the person who came up with the plan tell him, himself. Kirito? Would you?" Agil gestured to Kirito to come down. Kirito gulped seeing everyone looking at him.

"Was he there the whole time?"

"Wow, so that's what he looks like?"

"So young!"

Kirito made his way down to where Agil was, giving him a dirty look, Asuna only gave him a slight smile. Looking back at the crowd, he noticed some people give worried glaces at him, while others looked at him with hatred.

"Good Morning. I understand some of you know me as 'The Beater', but you guys don't know why I am going with it. Its not cause I want to be called it, or that I even want to be known as 'The Beater of Sword Art Online', so if you believe that. So what.

"Anyways, as Agil told you, this **O** **x** will charge single mindlessly. But what he neglected to tell you was the fact that it will only charge at one person only. So even if there was one person separated the group, it would, and will only target the one player. So when that happens, it has a one second delay when changing its course. So in that one second, players attack. But the one player who its targeting, must continuously stay on the run. They can't stop even for a second..." Kirito paused letting it all sink in.

"YEAH? WELL YOU WANT ONE OF US TO TAKE ON THAT RESPONSIBILITY?" one yelled out. This got players talking. Not even think, they all started agreeing that Kirito only wanted them there so he wouldn't be targeted.

Kirito sighed, saying "I will be the one it targets!" He confirmed. Players looked at him like he had two heads. "That's right, if you think I am such a bad guy, then I would let you guys take the fall. But the program on that **O** **x** is that it will only attack one player," Kirito noticed they started to shut up. But the look on Asuna's face was a face of shock. She never thought he would be the one to be the bait, but she had to go with it, seeing as it might help players stop hating on him.

After Kirito confirmed that, Agil took back over. "With that settled, everyone party up with those you feel comfortable with! And we will meet back here at '3:00'! Be here by then and we will set out for the Field-Boss 10 minutes later! Dismissed!" Agil said, turning his back to them, looking back at Kirito and Asuna.

Seconds later, Kirito saw a notification pop up. He tapped the message, and noticed it was a 'Global Message', meaning every single player got the same message, just like when Agil sent out his message. He looked around and everyone was muttering things to themselves.

Kirito decided to read it out loud, as he started to players gathered around him and listened in.

 _Dear Players of Sword Art Online,_

 _It is none other than Kayaba Akihiko._

 _I would like to congratulate the players who participated in the First Floor Boss raid. And while it was an interesting battle and aftermath, I would like to make one more announcement._

 _After the First announcement I had made regarding being trapped in this game, I would like to now state a new interesting rule. I don't think it is far that just because a small group of players cleared the Boss of the floor, that everyone in the game can now advance to the next floor._

 _So starting on the 5th floor, I will enforce the new rule that only those participating in the Boss Raid can ascend to the next floor!_

 _Don't worry, it wouldn't be fair that you can only defeat a boss once. The bosses on floors 5 and up will respawn, making it so other players can Boss raid._

 _Now don't fear. Not everyone has to beat the last Boss, but rather if the 100th floor Boss is cleared, everyone will be logged out._

 _I now wish you the best of luck, players!_

 _~Kayaba_

Looking at everyone's shocked faces, Kirito realized this was no joke.

Now in order to go to the next floor, everyone must help defeat the boss. _If this doesn't get people to start taking the game seriously, I don't know what will_... Kirito thought, dismissing the message...

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Well that was a nice twist! I realized that no one has ever done something like this in any fanfiction I have ever come across. I would like to give a shout out to **Gaara King of The Sand** , he was the one who made me follow through with this idea.

Also I would love it if people started to review more. It gives inspiration to me. Also, if you have an idea for a floor theme and an idea for a Boss/field-boss and monsters, please send them in. I do have the next few floors planned out, so I would appreciate more ideas!

Until next time...!


	5. Making Amends

**Author's Note:**

I want to thank everyone who has reviewed this story. Know that it really does help motivate me to continue this story. And I want to assure you all of something: School will be starting soon for me, but I do not plan on this story to go on a Hiatus. That would be uncool for me to do, and on top of that I have the next 6-7 floors planned out. The only thing I do not have planned out is a side story.

On top of that, this past week, 8/17-8/21, I had Drivers Ed! So I hadn't had much time to write.

The main thing I wanted to say was, I have an official Beta Reader/Editor, EuclidWriter. He gave me a fix to the twist I had in the end of the last chapter, and he edited this entire chapter.

 **Disclaimer: I hate disclaiming, y'all already know I own nothing of Sword Art Online.**

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 2: Mutaun**

 **Time: Right After Announcement**

Minutes passed, and no one spoke a word.

Right after the message came through, everyone stopped and starred at Kirito, who read the message out loud. Kirito himself was a bit thrown back. Not knowing how to react, he got a second message. It was yet another Global Message, this time as soon as he opened it, a few players who were still in a state of shock quietly listened along, as he started to read the new message.

' _Once again, it is Kayaba Akihiko._

 _I would like to make a quick revision to my previous announcement. While the rule that only players who partake in the Boss Raid could only advance to the next floor will still be in effect, I decided to change it a bit._

 _Taken into account that many players have chosen the life of selling/crafting items, I will make it so once 5 floors have been cleared, players who did not participate in Boss Raids will have access to those floors._

 _If players want to get a head start on rare items and limited quests, then it is of utmost importance that you should be_ _in each Boss fight. However, if you would prefer staying out of harms way, then do not participate._

 _Bosses will only respawn after the next set of floors are open to all players._

 _I wish you all the best of luck._

 _Until next time..._

 _-Kayaba Akihiko'_

Kirito trailed off, and saw the faces of his peers. They all looked a bit less shocked, but a few players reread the message, as if they didn't trust Kirito.

Looking at Asuna, she noticed him look towards her, so she looked up and met his gaze. Her eyes usually showed concern for Kirito, but this time worry filled her gaze. Kirito completely understood her, but at the same time the new rule made sense. Though Kirito wouldn't admit it was a good idea, nevertheless he still loathed Kayaba.

"Well now it is a death game..." someone spoke up, disturbing the silence. Kirito remembered reading something in the guidebook that had been created. Recalling the memory, Kirito pipped up.

"Yeah," Kirito agreed, in turn everyone looked at him as he continued, "I remember reading in the guidebook, that only 60 players can partake in a Boss Raid..." Kirito heard people starting to gasp in shock. Asuna herself found a hand had been placed over her mouth. He explained how he remembered reading that 10 parties of 6 could be grouped together to take on a boss. Kirito continued, "now it's more important than ever to make sure no one dies in Boss Raids... Cause if a few players die, that would mean 55 people could go up against the Next Boss..."

People around Kirito started to agree. Instead of seeing him as a threat, they started to look towards him. They still hadn't come to officially trust Kirito, but they knew his words rang true. Yet a few players starred at Kirito as if he was the one at fault for this.

"If 55 people made it to the next floor, that would mean only 55 players going up against a stronger opponent. Not to mention there is both the Field-Boss, AND the Boss itself. So that would mean 10 bosses, until other players manage to catch up..." Kirito talked to the crowd of people who had recently formed a semicircle around him. A few more players joined the crowd while he continued, "Right now, we should just focus on the Field-Boss that we were planning on taking on. Once he is defeated, we will make another call to try to get more players..."

Trailing off, Kirito looked into Asuna's eyes. He knew what she was thinking, that he ought to party up with her once more so they could avoid more casualties. But Kirito was dead set on staying separate. If he was responsible for her death, it would completely crush him. On the other hand, if he wasn't there when it happened, he would blame himself for not being able to protect her.

Someone in the crowd of people spoke out, "So wha' we ought to do?" Asuna took it upon herself to answer this question.

"I say we fight on! We came to this meeting for a reason, and that was to clear this floor's Field-Boss. So we should fight on like we were planning on doing. Let's not let this stop us," she finished looking at Kirito.

Kirito's posture read 'Nicely Spoken'. However, his eyes told her, 'We need to Talk'. His eyes had a dark and distant look, reminiscent of when they had first met. Yet even he had opened up to her afterwards, he abruptly fell distant again. Deciding it was time to stop thinking about it, she heard Agil talk out loud again.

"Listen up! We are having a change of plans! We were originally going to be raiding the Field-Boss later in the day, but we are going Raiding in 30 minutes. Everyone go fill up on supplies and get any equipment you need. Meet back here in 30 minutes!" Agil said shortly before turning around and walking out of the Rally point, and walked into town. Agreeing with him, they all decided to leave themselves.

One by one they all left, until it was only Asuna and Kirito. Asuna looked around, noticing no one was here, she spoke up,

"You wanted to talk?" Asuna guessed.

"Yeah," Kirito said, stopping. He walked off to the side of the enclosed meeting space, and sat down. Following in his foot steps, she sat down beside him, and waited for him to continue.

"Asuna-san," he started. "I- I would prefer you stay here..." he said trailing off.

"Do you mean not participate in the Field-Boss raid?" She questioned, looking at his face, she noticed how he looked everywhere but her face.

"No, I mean in general. Don't participate in any Boss fights," he clarified as he finally met her eyes. She noticed something had changed. From once being a scared, timid Kirito, to one who flowed with certainty. She was shocked by this declaration, but at the same time she knew it was coming.

"No," she said getting up. She started to walk away, but a hand shot out and grabbed her, stopping her in her tracks.

"I am serious, Asuna-san. You could get hurt, or worse. I would tell everyone to stay here where it is safe, but everyone here knows we have no choice but to fight."

"So that means I am different? That I have to be protected? Like how you are distancing yourself from me? How you made Agil watch over me?" Asuna glared coldly into his eyes. Her eyes bore through Kirito like a knife going through butter. "I am not a child Kirito-kun! I didn't come into this world to be bossed around! I didn't come with you to be left! And I certainly didn't come here to have someone watch over me 24/7!"

Kirito looked away. Her words rang true. Everyone had a reason for saying 'Link Start'. Whether it is to escape from reality, or to be finally free from criticism. Asuna knew his intentions were pure, but at the same time they pissed her off.

Asuna looked towards the sky as she continued, "I over heard what you said to Agil. How you made him look over me as a favor to you for saving his life. I also heard why you are distancing yourself," Asuna continued. Hearing a slight grunt from Kirito, meant she was spot on, so she continued, "you want people to focus their anger on you, rather than lash out on innocent people. While that is honorable and all, its stupid. You don't deserve the anger built up inside people. So why do you want people to lash out at YOU?"

"Because I can take i-"

"Don't give me that bullshit," Asuna cussed while cutting him off. "You don't deserve it! What upsets me the most, is you DITCH ME!"

Kirito bolted upright screaming, "BECAUSE YOU DON'T DESERVE IT!"

"LIKE YOU DO?!" Asuna yelled back, as she started to tear up. When Kirito saw her eyes start to water, he backed up. He knew when to back off from a fight, but this one was not the one. He knew if he ran away from it, it would upset Asuna even more.

"KIRITO-KUN! YOU CAN'T DECIDE WHAT I CAN AND CANNOT HANDLE!" Asuna yelled as she stood up and walked to stand in front of him. Looking into his face, she realized just how much her words were affecting him. He looked down and away, while his eyes found a good place on the floor to look at. Asuna's face turned from anger to immediate regret. But nevertheless they needed to clear the air.

"You're right," Kirito said in a low tone. "I left you in that room for myself. I knew I would only cause you pain. People would hate you, and you could get hurt. So I wouldn't be able to handle that kind of pressure. Holding someone's life in my hands," Kirito said looking towards town. "Hate me if you will."

With that, Kirito left Asuna standing there in the plaza, tearing up.

She looked at the spot where he was once standing, and continued to silently cry. She knew she was right, but the way she had approached him, couldn't have been more wrong. She approached the seat in front of her, and noticed a few players had gathered. The look in their eyes showed sympathy, and anger.

"Don't get upset at Kirito-kun," she called out. "This," she pointed to her tears. "Is because of my own ignorance."

She sat down ignoring them, and just waited for the meeting to commence...

* * *

 **Real World**

 **Time: 13:02**

 **Location: Kazuto's Hospital Room**

The weekend came around for Suguha and her mother, and on Saturday's they would go to Kazuto's hospital room. Today, they were a bit more excited than they usually were. Doctor Yolkia had informed Midori that they needed to meet almost immediately, informing them that they had some good news.

They waited in the Kazuto's room patiently, while Suguha talked to Kazuto about her week. However Midori was staring at a TV monitor that had been installed within the last few days. The last time Midori had been there was three days ago and she hadn't seen it, so she looked at Suguha, and asked if she had noticed it when she was here yesterday.

Suguha broke her train of thought and looked back up at her mother and replied, "Uhh, no. Not from what I remember. I think I left here around 5:30, and there wasn't a TV here. Maybe that has to do with the information she has for us."

Midori took this into consideration. "You think she wants us to be able to watch TV while being at Kazuto's side?" Midori said with a hint of disgust. A few minutes passed until Doctor Yolkia entered the room and greeted Suguha and Midori.

"Good Afternoon," she said with a smile across her face as she closed the door behind her. "I take it you have seen the Monitor that was installed last night?" She noticed Midori was facing it.

"Yeah, we did. Is it for out luxury? That we can watch TV while being at Kazuto's side?" She repeated.

"I see your point, but that TV is not compatible for the usage of watching regular TV," she said as she approached Kazuto's bed, but still remained eye contact with Midori. "You see Mrs. Kirigaya, when we started to investigate this Nerve gear," she said tapping the side of Kazuto's piece, "We discovered that we could not intercept the electromagnetic waves that were being sent from the piece to his brain. The best we were able to do was get a display of what he was actually seeing."

"You're saying we can see what Onii-Chan sees?" Suguha popped up into the conversation. Midori was too displaying interest.

"Yes, although we do need to finish setting up his gear to the monitor. But we predict within the next few days, we will be able to see what he is seeing."

"Just see?" Midori asked.

"Yes. There is no way for us to intercept what he hears. The best we were able to do was see what he is seeing. It also gives us better knowledge about the game itself." Doctor Yolkia said, looking down at Kazuto.

"You mean it will give us a better estimate if they will survive through this," Midori asked looking back at her unconscious child.

"Y-yes," Doctor Yolkia said after realizing they were entering a grey area for both parties. "At this time, that is the best we can do for them, for him."

"We understand," she looked at Suguha, who returned her worried gaze. "We better go Suguha, we should let them do what they need to to see Kazuto." To this, Sugu only nodded her head once before getting up and out of her chair. Walking out of the door, they both said their goodbyes to Kazuto, and the doctor.

In the hallway they saw men with wires and such over their shoulders, heading in the direction of Kazuto's room.

"Don't worry, Suguha. He will be alright," Midori said, realizing her daughter's concern for her cousin. _I got to tell her soon_...

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 2: Mutaun**

 **Time: Ten Minutes After Field-Bosses Meeting**

 **Location: Meeting Plaza, Floor 2**

After Kirito and Asuna's dispute, Kirito decided to get this **Blade of Azure** repaired, given he only had less than 5 minutes until he was due to be back at the meeting.

Upon reentering the Plaza, he saw Asuna at the base of the Plaza, sitting inwards. Deciding to let her think things over, he sat in the top row of seats directly behind Asuna, so she wouldn't see him.

As players started to fill in, and Agil went to the center of the Plaza, telling everyone it was time to set out on their journey. Kirito along with everyone else got up and followed Agil out of town and into the fields. Kirito decided to stay in the back of the group, while Asuna and Agil were at the head of the group.

Kirito opened his menu, and went to the party menu, realizing he was still in a party with Agil and Asuna. Considering it, he stopped his finger before it managed to hit 'Dissolve', Kirito thought it was best if they all stayed in a Party, seeing as how he would be taking the major hit for the group.

Up at the head of the raiding group, Agil and Asuna talked for a bit, discussing Kirito and how reckless and stupid he is. But upon hearing about their previous argument from Asuna himself, Agil knew Kirito didn't deserve that yelling. Though Asuna realized how aggressive she was, she still thought she was right.

"Asuna-sama, you need to give Kirito some breathing room. Though he might get himself in major trouble, he will eventually realize he isn't right," Agil assured Asuna as they approached the Den of the Field-Boss.

"I know Agil, but he needs to understand I am not a child. I do not want to be protected every hour of the day," She rebutted, looking straight on into the grassy fields. Every few seconds, she looked at Kirito's HP gauge just to make sure it was still there.

"I know that Asuna-sama, but it's best to tell Kirito that. Also, you should be a bit nicer to him. I heard that conversation you too had earlier." Agil paused looking ahead. "And let me tell you, if I were Kirito, I would have walked away too."

After that, they both stopped talking and focused on staying on course. Agil checked his map every few minutes to make sure they were heading in the right direction. Asuna, however, would turn around to see if they still had people following them every few seconds. If the players behind her knew how long the journey was, would they have come in the first place?

However, during her looks, she also looked for Kirito; just to make sure she didn't scare him off.

"Knowing Kirito, he is at the back of the group," Agil's eyes remained on the trail as he read the worried girl next to him. "Don't worry, Asuna-sama.

His attempt to reassure Asuna ended in failure, as she continued to search for him. She noticed people started to become curious at her glances, seeing as how they too started to look backwards at the rest of the group. Deciding Agil was right, she turned back around and focused on the trail.

 _The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can apologize to Kirito-kun_ , Asuna thought inwardly. She closed her eyes for a split second and tried to envision how the battle would develop. She still mentally scolded Kirito for becoming the bait, though if he survived this, she would just let it passed her.

"Kirito sure is brave." Agil said out loud.

"How so?" Asuna asked, thinking of reckless he was. "I think he acts impulsively, and doesn't think with his head.

"Well he does act without using his head, however, if everyone acted while using their heads, nothing would get done in this game. We would be trapped here for longer than we all want," Agil paused, letting it sink into Asuna's head. "Having someone who acts without reason can be reckless, but they will be the one to get things done. That's why you need to be there for him to make sure he doesn't go off and get himself killed."

Asuna considered his reasoning for the next few minutes as they made their way through the fields. She spotted the den in the distance, and heard players' concern grow. They started to murmur things to themselves, though Asuna didn't may them any attention.

"Agil," she started while getting his attention. "You really agree with Kirito-kun?"

Agil only nodded, and payed his attention to the den as it grew closer with each passing step.

"I do Asuna-sama. He might be just a kid, but he didn't deserve what you said to him. He might have a better reason for wanting you to stay out of harm's way. We just don't, and probably won't, know his reasoning," Agil reasoned.

Asuna only sighed and refused to comment, deciding she would have time to think about it later.

When they arrived at the den, 10 minutes had passed. By then, Kirito made his way up towards the head of the group. As he maneuvered his way, players moved out of the way allowing him to pass.

Some players looked at him with disgust, while others had no expression on their faces. Making his way to the head, he looked at the entrance to the den. Seeing the wide open curve of the door, he noticed Asuna had been looking at him for some time. He glanced at her for a quick second, before looking back at the group.

"Okay, I will go in before everyone else, making it so he will only target me. Do not hesitate when you hear the **Ox** 's squeal," Kirito paused as he looked at everyone in the group. "Once you hear it, charge in. Attack his sides while he changes direction, that's our only chance. No one knows how much damage he could do in one blow."

Without waiting for an agreement, Kirito took off into the den alone, while everyone else was left to stare at the "Beater's" back.

"He is either very brave, or incredibly stupid," one called out, earning a laugh from a few players. Some rebutted that it was bravery, while some players made Kirito sound like he was doing this for himself. Their thoughts were soon interrupted from a squeal, coming from inside the Den.

 **The Raging Torment Ox** made a prolonged squeal that echoed throughout the den from where he resided. Hearing the signal, the players on the outside did not miss a beat. Drawing their weapons, they all rushed in to see an **Ox** chasing Kirito throughout the den.

Upon getting the **Ox** 's attention, Kirito was on the defense. Remembering the previous scouting party, he remembered to constantly be on the go. Kirito dodged left and right, waiting for the other players to join the fight. What seemed like a few minutes was actually a few seconds before the other players engaged the **Ox** from its sides like Kirito suggested.

Agil and Asuna led the example of fighting as they attacked when the **Ox** had a moment to change direction.

The room was a lot smaller than the previous Boss battle. Kirito only had a small room for error before he had to dodge to the side, making sure he doesn't get hit by the **Ox** , or an upcoming wall.

"SHHRRREEEEEAAAK!" The **Ox** let out as it dropped down to one HP bar.

Dropping to one HP bar, the **Ox** grew faster. Noticing this, Kirito sped up from what was a lunge to the side every 3-4 seconds to having to dive to the side every 2 seconds.

Asuna noticed Kirito starting to tire out. When the pace started to change, the other players started to back off as soon as they realized they were no longer making contact with the Field-Boss. Asuna looked around the room, trying to find a way to help Kirito out before he made a mistake.

She grew worried when she realized there was no one in the den that could help.

Agil noticed the **Ox** was leading Kirito inward, where the den narrowed. "KIRITO!" he called out before realizing his own mistake. Agil saw Kirito's head snap towards them as he dodged one final time before he tripped and skidded to a stop.

Asuna acted immediately.

Activating her **Sprint** skill, she attacked the **Ox** 's side. After successfully getting its attention, Kirito managed to get back to his feet and backed out of the way a bit, before almost collapsing again.

Noticing he was out of the way, Asuna sped up her thrusts. Having enough of it, the **Ox** changed targets from Kirito, to Asuna. Its eyes glowed a faint red before it wiped its head to the side, making contact with Asuna's body, sending her flying in the opposite direction, slamming into a wall. Upon impact, Asuna crumbled to the ground, dropping her **Iron Rapier**. Her Health dropper into the deep Red Zone, so the **Ox** turned around, and charged straight at the defenseless girl.

Agil, along with a few other players reacted, and charged back into battle, only to realized they were too far away to help.

Asuna managed to get to her feet. Looking up, she saw the **Ox** charge straight at her. She closed her eyes as she braced for impact.

 _BOOOOOOOOM!_

The side of the den erupted, sending rocks and boulders everyone, like lava erupting out of a volcano. The **Ox** slammed into the side of the den, making a huge hole in the side of the Den. Agil, along with every other player, rushed to the newly formed crater.

Looking down at the scene below him, he noticed the **Raging Torment Ox** was charging around the field aimlessly. At first, Agil grew confused because he didn't see Asuna and Kirito anywhere. He half expected Asuna to be gone however, Asuna erupted from a pile of rubble.

Agil heard a faint scream coming from her direction.

The players, Agil included, jumped out the side of the den and rushed into the field.

"EVERYONE ENGAGE THE **OX** WHILE IT'S STILL IN A CONFUSED STATE!" Agil ordered the rest, as he rushed to Asuna's side. He quickly noticed Asuna trying to lift a rock slab that rested on the ground. Upon inspection, Agil noticed a hand sticking out of the side of it.

Lifting the slab off the ground immediately, Agil realized Kirito took the hit that sent them through the wall. Agil saw he had cuts everywhere on his body but realized he was unconscious.

"You IDIOT!" Asuna screamed at the unconscious boy. Agil muttered something to Asuna, before returning back to the battle, leaving her to stay by Kirito.

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 2: Mutaun**

 **Location: Second Floor Town, Grimsby**

 **Time: 10:32**

Kirito's eyes shuttered open, as his eyes adjusted to the light in the room.

Staring at the ceiling, he soon realized they were no longer in the den. Darting up, he looked around the room to find a tall dark man sitting in the chair in the corner. Blinking a few times, he noticed Agil smiling back at him.

"Hey," Kirito said sleepy-eyed.

"Hey," Agil replied.

"Where- where am I?" Kirito asked, before noticing Agil's finger to his lips. He pointed his finger to the side of Kirito's bed. Kirito followed his finger with his eyes and noticed a sleeping Asuna, who was half draped across his bed, while the other half of her body was sitting in a chair.

Agil pointed to the door, signaling Kirito to follow him outside where they could talk. Kirito quietly got out of bed and gently picked Asuna up bridal style, tucked her into bed, then followed Agil out into the living room. Looking around, Kirito saw the place had a big living room and kitchen. The living room had a sofa and love seat, while the kitchen had a small dining room off to the side. He looked back to the living room and saw Agil sitting down on the sofa, with his feet on the coffee table.

Kirito followed his example by sitting down on the love seat, before realizing his sword had disappeared.

"Don't worry, it's back in the other room," Agil chuckled. "And to answer your previous question, we are in a large hotel room in the next town, Grimsby."

"Wow. I don't remember much about the battle, what happened?" Kirito asked leaning forward.

"Your arrogance got the better of you. When the **Ox** 's speed increased, you were overwhelmed. You tripped, then Asuna became the center of its attention. She was then smashed into the side of the den, then you played super hero, and shielded her from the blast. You blasted through the wall, and you were rendered unconscious," Agil finished saying, letting it sink into his head.

"How long have I been out?" Kirito asked.

"Only a couple hours. After the battle, I slung you over my back and hauled your ass here. If I were you, I would apologize to Asuna-sama when she wakes up. She hasn't left your side since it happened."

Kirito's eyes shot open realizing he must of worried her, "Have you guys started to clear the dungeons?"

"Yeah, I sent out a few search parties to 3 of the 5 remaining dungeons." Agil said, as he took his feet off the coffee table. "And before you ask, there were no casualties."

Kirito sighed in relief as he put his hands on his face, pondering how to apologize to Asuna. "What should I say to her?"

"I would start it off by giving her this." Agil paused before opening his menu and sending Kirito a trade request. Moving his hands from his eyes, Kirito looked at the trade request.

" **The** **Retaliator**?" Kirito said as he tapped and appraised it.

 **The Retaliator** was the rare Rapier drop from the **Raging Torment Ox** , with 10 attack, 8 speed, and 500 durability. Kirito looked at it in amazement.

"You got the Last Attacking Bonus?" Kirito asked Agil in amazement. Agil only nodded his head once. "Why are you giving it to me?"

"Two reasons," Agil started. "First, this makes us even. No more watching over Asuna, which is your job now." raising a hand to Kirito's sigh he continued, "And the second reason is because you deserve it. Yes you owe her a new Rapier, but you took the brunt of the damage."

Kirito accepted the trade request an lied back on the love seat.

"By the way, here are the maps of the previous ones," he said sending Kirito his map of Floor Two. "As you see, these two towers are the only ones left. We even asked some known Beta Testers, and they don't remember which tower held the Boss." Agil noticed a look in Kirito's eyes. "Any ideas?"

"Only a hunch," Kirito said while standing up. "Tell Asuna I will be back."

Kirito made his way to the door but paused before opening it. "Sword?" Kirito asked. Agil only pointed towards the room where Kirito spent his week asleep. Walking back into the room, Kirito spotted his sword and proceeded to cross the room to collect it. Upon grabbing the sword, he heard Asuna start to mumble to herself.

 _Probably just a nightmare_ , he said as he walked over to her side, and pulled the blanket up around her shoulders.

"Sleep well." Kirito whispered, before leaving the room.

Before he made his way out the door, he turned and looked at Agil and asked, "Could you not tell Asuna I went out so soon after waking up?"

"You want me to lie to her?" Agil questioned.

"Improvise," Kirito said before exiting the room, earning a small laugh from Agil.

* * *

 **Real World**

 **Location: Kazuto's Hospital Room**

 **Time: 11:30**

A day passed before Suguha and Midori revisited Kazuto.

They gave the hospital space to install the final pieces of equipment needed that would allow them to be able to see what is happening to Kazuto while he was in the virtual world.

They got a phone call last night, saying they finished the installation, and it would be up and running in the morning. The doctor entered the room shortly after they did.

Since they had to understand how to work it, (even if Midori had a knack for figuring stuff like that) they still needed to understand how to operate it without any issues. A few minutes passed during her explanation, but after she handed the control stick to Midori she said with a warm smile, "And I will leave you two to view him in silence."

"Thank you, Doctor Yolkia. We can take it from here," Midori said, returning the smile.

After she exited the room, Midori turned on the monitor, and activated the device. Like instructed, the monitor took a few seconds to start up, but after it did the screen read,

 **Would you like to spectate the Player [Kirito]?**

"Kirito?" Suguha asked her mother, earning a shrug from Midori. Rather than questioning it, she continued to look at the screen until she saw a series of windows pop up. One looked like a First-Person View, while the other was a sort of Third-Person View. Midori clicked the third person view, and both Midori and Suguha gasped.

"Mom! That looks exactly like Onii-chan!" Suguha exclaimed.

"Yeah, it does," she replied in a hushed voice. Still inspecting the screen, she saw in the top corner a green gauge, which she only expected to be an HP gauge. After that, she decided to click the First Person View, and was surprised that they could all but control Kazuto.

"Wow!" Suguha said in amazement.

'Kirito', they were viewing was crossing a large field headed to some tower of sorts. Strange looking monsters were sprawled across the field, but when one crossed 'Kirito's' path, he would draw his sword and engage in battle.

"That's definitely Kazuto," Suguha said to her mother.

"You can tell by the sword?" Midori asked while keeping her eyes on the battle.

"Yes, because that form with the sword is a Kendo style. Though it's a bit faint, it definitely is a style Kazuto learned before he quit." She explained while staring at the screen in amazement. Everything that was shown on the screen amazed Sugu, from the quality of the sword, to the graphics of the monster.

Slowly but surely, Suguha was starting to understand why her brother enjoyed the virtual world.

 _2 Hours Later..._

Suguha and Midori decided to head out early so they could go into town to do some shopping. After seeing Kazuto explore an entire tower by himself and find nothing but dead ends and empty rooms, he left and went back to a hotel room that had a tall man and a sleeping girl in it.

The man and Kazuto seemed to have exchanged a few words, before 'Kirito' headed out to town to do some shopping himself.

So Suguha decided she herself wanted to go shopping, just like 'Kirito' had done.

"Hey mom, who do you think that girl was. You know, in the room?" Sugu asked

"I don't know. I would assume she is a friend of Kazuto's, seeing as he adjusted the covers on her to make sure they wouldn't slip or fall off." Midori reasoned.

"Yeah, true." They came to the conclusion as they left his room, and exited into the hallway.

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 2: Mutaun**

 **Location: Hotel Room**

 **Time: 14:31**

A few hours after Kirito had left to scout, Asuna finally started to wake up. Leaning forward, she stretched out her arms in a yawning manner and looked to her side, where she thought the bed had been However, she realized she was the one laying in the bed.

"Huh?" She said confused, Asuna looked to her side and saw the chair she was once sitting in. Looking around the room, she saw no sight of Kirito. Pushing the sheets off of her, she got out of bed and exited the room, seeing Agil's hands in the refrigerator.

"Agil." Asuna addressed while approaching him. "Where is Kirito-kun?"

"He left 3 hours ago to scout for the Boss Room," Agil said nonchalantly, keeping his head in the fridge.

"You let him go scout for the Boss alone?!" Asuna scolded, keeping her eyes trained on the back of his head. He noticed her discomfort, so he pulled his head out of the fridge and looked her in the eyes.

"Yes," Agil replied, like he did nothing wrong. "Don't worry, I made sure he had a Teleporting Crystal."

Asuna heard Agil's amused voice and asked again, "Where is he Agil?" Agil calmed himself down. As much as he enjoyed teasing her, he knew he couldn't keep a straight face.

Caving in, he admitted, "He's in town getting his equipment repaired and he is buying himself some clothing. Before the Field-Boss, he apparently ran into a quest that gave him quite a bit of Col."

Asuna closed her eyes in relief. She knew Kirito was reckless, but she knew he wouldn't do something that stupid. "Good."

Agil reopened the fridge and continued his search for some food.

 _In Town..._

Grimsby was a smaller town than Urbus.

It was covered in small shops, and only had one Blacksmith shop. Though it took Kirito a few minutes to locate, he wasn't disappointed in the result.

Though it was a small shop, the NPC was able to upgrade Kirito's items very fast. Kirito knew he had to get back to the hotel room before Agil ran out of excuses to stall Asuna. _Man,_ Kirito thought to himself. _I am starting to owe Agil more and more with each passing day_. Walking out of the shop, Kirito felt satisfied with the results. His **Blade of Azure** had been fulled maxed out with +7 attack and +1 speed. Reopening his menu window, he appraised his gift for Asuna.

 **The Retaliator**.

With it's already impressive stats of 10 attack and 8 speed, Kirito maxed out the upgrades, adding +5 attack, and +3 speed. Which of course, made it a very fast weapon.

He dismissed the window as he left the shop, but he first checked his Col. He had 12,092 Col left.

Kirito coughed when he saw the number. Before he upgraded everything, he had a little over 20,000, but now he last close to 10,000 Col.

 _Great_... He thought sarcastically.

Checking the time, he saw it was close to dinner, so he rushed back to the hotel room. Kirito wasn't sure what he hurried for more. Was it giving his gift to Asuna? Or was it eating Asuna's dinner? Making his way back into the hotel, he greeted the NPC behind the counter, and went back to the room he left from earlier in the day.

Using the key Agil had given him, he unlocked the door and entered the room quietly. Agil was sitting on the Sofa that was facing the TV in the room. Noticed Kirito walk in, he looked up to Kirito.

He spotted Agil and mouthed 'Where is she?'

Agil nodded his head to the bedroom. Kirito removed his equipment and sat down next to Agil, and started to watch TV along with him, pretending that he had been there the whole time.

A few minutes later, Asuna walked into the room and went straight to the Kitchen, not even noticing Kirito had returned.

"Yo Asuna-san," Kirito's eyes remained on the TV, but noticed he no longer heard any foot steps, singling she stopped dead in her tracks. "when's dinner?"

Asuna turned around, and walked back and stopped in front of the TV, blocking both of their views.

"Where were you?!" Asuna demanded.

"Didn't Agil tell you?" Kirito retorted.

"Yes he did, but I want to hear from YOU where you were."

"I was in town, shopping. I got my equipment repaired, and bought a few things," he finished saying and heard Agil sigh in relief. Kirito knew he got the explanation right when Asuna grunted and walked back into the Kitchen. Once she was back in the kitchen, Agil turned to Kirito and asked in a low tone,

"Find anything?"

"Nope, but that at least narrows done our options. Heard back from any of the scouters?" Kirito asked as he pulled up his map, sending it to Agil.

"Yeah, I heard back from all but one. The one group that returned found nothing but empty rooms and dead ends. But they did run into some monsters," he said pulling up his messages. Reading through one of them he read out the name of the monster, " **Lesser Taurus** **Strikers**."

"Yeah, I encountered them too. They are a bigger than the **Ox** 's that are in these fields," Kirito said in a hushed voice so Asuna wouldn't hear. "They have horns, and use their claws for most of their damage. Easily avoidable. Dodge to the side, **U** **ppercut** up the side then a **Horizontal Strike** to create distance."

"Yeah, according to the scouts, they were able to easily fend them off...," Agil trailed off, noticing Asuna starting to put some food down on the table. Nudging Kirito, they both got up and walked to the table. There was a large bowl of salad that was set on the table, though Kirito preferred her sandwiches, he knew she had little time to prepare the food.

"I would have made something else, but someone here was hungry," She growled at Kirito, before a smile returned to her face as she sat back down.

Kirito sat down next to her, while Agil sat across from both of them. Asuna dished out the food, and passed one bowl to both Kirito and Agil, before dishing one for herself. The three ate in silence, until Agil decided to break the silence.

"So Kirito, Why did you shield Asuna from that hit?" Agil asked, clearly making small talk because he clearly knew the answer already.

Asuna too was curious, but the difference between Agil and Asuna, was she really didn't know the answer. "Yeah Kirito-kun, why did you?"

Swallowing the food in his mouth, he managed, "Because I couldn't just stand there and see you get hit."

"But that blast could of killed you," Asuna reasoned.

"But it would of killed you if it made contact," Kirito snapped back. Realizing his mistake, Kirito quickly apologized and continued, "If I watched you die, I would of blamed myself for it. I couldn't let you die, because I promised myself I would get you out of here."

Agil was just as shocked as Asuna was. Agil's eyes burst open, while Asuna only blushed at his confession. She kept quiet, with absolutely no idea how to respond.

Kirito took his eyes off of Asuna, and stared directly at his food. He twirled his fork throughout the salad, while debating to continue talking or not. Deciding against it, he took another bit of his food and kept quiet.

"Kirito's right, Asuna-sama," Agil said gaining the attention of both Asuna and Kirito. "You remember what Kirito said before the battle right? He said he wasn't sure if someone could survive one hit from the Field-Boss. Since you survived one, he knew you wouldn't be able to survive another one."

Agil finished his salad before continuing to talk, "By the way, what level are you two? I mean, you both were able to manage a massive blow from it," Agil asked. Kirito revealed to them that he was Level 20, when Asuna was Level 17. "Wow, and I am only level 15..."

Asuna only looked back down at her dinner.

She contemplated talking, trying to get more of his reasons out into the open, but decided he has said enough for now. However, much to her surprise, Kirito continued the conversation.

"Asuna-san," he addressed, keeping his eyes down. "The reason I left you back then, was so you didn't start this game with people hating you. I thought if I kept my distance, it would be better for you."

"Kirito-kun, I don't care what people think about me. What matters is that we all get out of this eventually. Though with the way things have been going, seems more like a dream," Asuna darkly said.

"I refuse to think like that," Kirito said looking up. "Yes things might get tough, but whatever happens we can't give into this game. If we think this game is our reality, we've lost." Getting up, he pushed in his chair and brought his dishes to the sink. Pressing the 'Wash' button, he put it away and walked back to the table. "I need some more rest. Good night Agil."

"Good night," Agil waved his hand. "Yeah, I will be heading back to my room shortly," he said before Kirito turned his back and walked back into the room. Agil looked back at Asuna, and saw she had picked up their dishes and already was returning them both to their shelves. "Well, I better excuse myself. Good night, Asuna-sama."

Agil left the room shortly after Asuna said her farewell.

Walking into the room, Asuna noticed Kirito was sitting down on one of the beds, looking at her.

"What is it Kirito-kun?" She asked gently.

"I am ready to replace that _Toothpick_ ," Kirito teased while drawing open his menu. After scrolling through his menu for a few seconds, his finger stopped on the item of his desire. Pressing it, he equipped **The Retaliator** , and showed it to Asuna.

The grip was a simple Rapier grip. The bottom end of the blade domed out, resembling a little guard for the users hand. The blade itself was a light grey color that ended in a sharp point.

Asuna gasped when she saw it. She kept thinking to herself that she would have to make him get it, and that he wouldn't get it if not forced too.

"You didn't have to," Asuna said grabbing the weapon from his grasp. She gave it a few test swings, to make sure it was a decent weapon. Looking back at Kirito, she saw him covering his head in fear. She realized she almost took off his head from the way he was holding it. "Sorry."

"No big deal, just my head," Kirito teased further. He reopened his menu and sent Asuna a trade offer. Accepting it, it disappeared into her inventory. "So are you happy? That makes us even."

"Does that mean you are going to leave again?" Asuna ask while sitting down on the vacant bed.

Kirito sighed. "As much as I would like to, no. You and Agil would hunt me down again."

Kirito lied down on his back, putting his hands behind his head, he closed his eyes. After a few seconds, Kirito reopened them and turned his head slightly, so he could see Asuna. Noticing his stare, she blushed and turned away.

Kirito only chuckled. "Did you guys set a meet for the Boss Raid? Seeing as no matter what, we will have the location of the Boss Room by morning."

"Yeah, I heard from Agil that the Boss meeting will be held tomorrow around Noon," Asuna replied before lying down herself. Asuna looked over to him again and apologized once more. "I am sorry Kirito-kun. For what I said before the Field-Boss raid."

Kirito looked back at the ceiling. "Its okay, Asuna-san. I know you're sorry, but you don't have to take back what you said. I know how reckless I have been."

"At least you know," Asuna teased. Before she knew it, her eyes were drifting off to sleep...

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 2: Mutaun**

 **Location: Boss Raid Meeting**

 **Time: 11:59**

Kirito was told that Agil had sent out a message to all players, telling them all to meet at a small plaza in Grimsby, the town was the only one near the Floor Boss' room.

Agil had told Asuna and Kirito that the last scouting group had gotten back to him this morning. Though he didn't get into details about what they had said, he told them he would discuss it during the meeting. Agil took the role of leader after Diavel's death, although Agil didn't want to, he ended up inheriting the role anyways.

12:00 passed, and there was easily more than 40 players present. They were all standing around the plaza. After Kirito had come in, they all made glances at him every now and then, saying something inaudible. Kirito, followed by Asuna, leaned against a building facing in wards so they could hear Agil speak.

Agil did a short introduction, before he started to explain everything he knew about the boss.

"Yesterday, after the Field-Boss, I sent out four scouting parties to search for the Bosses room. A few hours afterwards, I heard back from 3 of the 4, saying they found nothing but monsters known as ' **Lesser Taurus** **Strikers** '. From what we have seen, I can only imagine these Monsters will be in all the Dungeons on this floor," Agil paused, letting everything sink in. "Now for the main news. The last scouting party I sent out found the Boss Room. Upon going inside, they discovered something interesting.

"They saw two Bosses. 'One stood proudly in the center of the room', one of their messages said. While the other, 'Sat in a throne on the opposite side of the room'. Their names were, **Baran the General Taurus** , and **Asterius the Taurus King** ," Agil looked at a small group of players and gave them a quick nod.

"Were there any casualties?" Kirito spoke out, earning players to look his way.

"Fortunately, no." A girl from the scouting party spoke out. Kirito remembered her from the previous boss fight. She was in the group that Agil lead. Her name was Alicia. "We were close to getting trapped in, but we used our crystals after we got our information."

"Any weapons?" Someone called out.

"Yes," Alicia continued her speech. " **Baran** has a massive **Golden Hammer** , while **Asterius** has one but twice the size. When we were doing our scout, we discovered **Asterius** never attacked. So we assumed he only comes into battle when **Baran** is defeated."

People nodded, but no one spoke. Giving Alicia the floor, she continued,

"According the the guide book, **Baran** uses a skill called **Numbing Detonation.** It said that it is a sonic blast that erupts from his hammer when he makes contact with the floor. If you are in reach, it will paralyzes you for 3 seconds," she paused saying from personal experience.

Agil took over from there. "Alright, because of the new rule, we have to assume if we defeat the boss we cannot receive any aid from other players. So, it would be wise if we can get 60 players on the dot. No more, no less. We will break into groups, 10 parties of 6. I will lead group A, and Kirito will lead group B," Agil said nominating Kirito. Kirito threw him a quick glare but, withdrew it just as quickly. "Alright. Players group together, and if we need more players we will go out and recruit. Meet back here in an hour!"

Kirito looked at Agil as he opened his menu and left their party, leaving only Kirito and Asuna in the party.

Kirito looked over at Asuna, and gave her a confused look, asking, "Who would want to party with me?"

"I am sure some players would like to party with us," Asuna replied, not truly believing what she just said. But much to their surprise, a small group of 3 walked over to them. One of the three was Alicia, the girl from earlier in the boss meeting.

"Hey," She spoke. "Mind if we party with each other?"

Asuna spoke right out saying, "Sure!" she nudged Kirito, making him talk.

"Why not?" Kirito opened his eyes while drawing open his party menu. After sending them all invites, he asked everyone "So... know any single players who wouldn't mind partying with the "Beater"?"

"Eh, I was never one to use that Title," Alicia spoke. "But to answer your question, no we do not know anyone who is without a group."

Looking away, Asuna noticed everyone else was already paired up and ready, but Asuna didn't think there was 60 players here. One of the players they were partying with spoke her mind.

"There seems to be less than 60 players here."

"Yeah, I noticed that too. Although Agil wants a full raid, I don't think we will have that many, even if it means waiting an hour or two for them," Kirito thought out loud. "If they wanted to participate, then they would be here by now."

Agil walked up to the group, and counted them. Kirito asked how many people they had.

With a quick reply before walking away, Agil said, "49."

"Agil," Kirito called out gaining his attention. "I think we should commence the raid, and head for the Boss Room. With the amount of people coming, I think we will be able to manage."

Agil conceded to Kirito's point, though he still wanted at least 50 members. Agil told everyone that all but one group of players had 5 members. The only party that did not have a 5th member, was Agil's group himself.

"Agil," a player called out to him. "We will be fine."

After much persuading, Agil finally agreed to set out on the raid. He announced to the group that they were leaving, and they all set out on their way to the tower which held the Boss Room.

Kirito and Agil's groups led the way to the tower. Their job was to take out the **Lesser Taurus Strikers'** that got in their way. The back groups got the task of staying close behind them, in case of any that wee to respawn. About 10 minutes after they set out on their way, Kirito had a point to inform the rest of his party members the Switch Method. Alicia quickly understood the method, so she helped explain to to the remain members, just making sure they understood how it worked out.

The journey to the dungeon lasted 20 minutes. Though the path to it was straight, there was a few **Ox** 's that had spawned in their way, but Groups A and B (Agil's and Kirito's groups) made short work of them.

The **Lesser Taurus Striker** 's were about 3 feet, and stood proudly on all four legs. Their faces were a bit small while they all had two horns that protruded from the top of their heads.

Whenever a **Lesser Taurus** spawned in front of them, Kirito would charge out in front of everyone else. Drawing his **Blade of Azure** , Kirito saw the **Taurus** prepare for a lunge. Kirito side stepped, slashing upwards with an **Uppercut.** The Blow made contact making the **Lesser Taurus** stumble backwards.

Lunging again, Kirito blocked its two front paws, then he proceeded to yell, 'SWITCH!'. Asuna swiftly exchanged spots with Kirito, as she activated her skill **Shooting Star** , and landed a 6-hit combo, making it fall back.

Without warning, Kirito jumped in front of Asuna, and slashed upwards, making contact on its horn on purpose. Dropping it into the 'Red Zone', Kirito kept the pressure on, and slashed at its side, than made contact with its horn again.

The **Taurus** fell to the ground while letting out a faint squeal, before it shattered on the ground.

"What was that?" A player called out.

"Its weak spot." Kirito said while he sheathed his sword onto his back. "When Asuna landed her attack, I noticed she made contact with its horn. Normally, **Taurus** ' have very high defense. However, all monsters have a weak spot. Aim for the horns on the Boss and his **General**. That is where we will be doing the most damage."

Turning back around, Agil caught up with Kirito as they made their way to the Boss Room.

After Kirito revealed the strategy for defeating the **Taurus** ', the way to the Boss Room went by a lot faster, and easier. Before they even knew it, they were all in front of the Boss Door.

Taking a deep breath in, Agil said "Everyone make sure that you all have a Teleport Crystal in hand. Remember one thing, beware of the Hammer when it makes contact with the floor. If someone in your party gets hit, make sure someone covers them in the span they are unable to move."

Being rewarded with nods from players, Agil and Kirito both put one hand on each door, and pushed the door open.

The room was small. It was about 20 meters deep, and 10 meters wide. Compared to the last Boss Room, it made this one look like the back of an Ice cream van. The **General** was just like the scouters described. Having 4 bars of health as he stood proudly at 1 meter tall, and wielded a **Golden Hammer** that had to be used in two hands. While he stood on two feet, his head was a larger version of a **Lesser** 's head, but instead of 2 horns, the **General** had 4 horns. His tag read,

" **Baran the General Taurus** ".

The Raiders looked over at the throne in the back of the room.

 **"Asterius the Taurus King** ".

Shivering, Asuna noticed the only differences between **Baran** , and **Asterius** , was **Asterius** had 6 horns instead of 4, and he had a much larger **Golden Hammer** then **Baran** did. The **King** took his Hammer in one hand, and slammed the base of it onto the floor, signaling for **Baran** to attack.

Without missing a beat, **Baran** attacked the incoming Raiders.

"Split up!" Agil yelled to the group, causing them all to fan out as they formed a semicircle around **Baran**. Kirito and his party stayed to **Baran** 's left, while Agil faced him straight on. Swinging his mace in a taunting method, Agil and his party engaged **Baran**.

Kirito knew Agil's plan was to have his Group be **Baran** 's main focus, while the other groups attacked his sides. Upon swinging his **Golden Hammer** down, Agil and his group jumped backwards, making sure they dodged the shock wave that was to come. "NOW!" Agil yelled to the remaining groups.

Once the shock waves died down, Kirito ordered his group to charge in. Making sure the hammer was still on the ground, the players attack his legs. Quickly reeling his hammer back, **Baran** swung his hammer from side to side, making sure they all we far enough back.

"THAT DID NOTHING!" A player called out. Kirito remembered his idea from earlier to attack the horns.

"THE HORNS!" Kirito yelled out, making sure he was loud enough to be heard by everyone. **Baran** 's eyes glowed as he turned his head towards Kirito, swinging his hammer downwards, making contact with the floor.

Kirito didn't have enough time to avoid the shock wave. Getting hit, Kirito was frozen in place. **Baran** reeled his hammer back and swung again, aiming straight for Kirito.

Before he was able to make contact, Kirito heard **Baran** whale out in pain.

Asuna looked up, and saw a few players charging up Sword skills, and hitting his horns directly. Shaking his head in anger, the players flew off of his head and they landed on the ground in a _Thump!_

Agil saw **Baran** 's health drop down to 3 bars. Though that was effective, Agil thought it was reckless.

Out of the corner of Agil's eye, he saw **Baran** swing his hammer down once again, in the direction of Kirito. Kirito being Kirito, dodged the shock wave by jumping onto the hammer itself. Running up his arm, Kirito activated a **Sonic Leap** , as he noticed **Baran** trying to swat Kirito off. Jumping upwards, Kirito aimed directly at **Baran** 's face, making him fall backwards onto the floor.

Kirito jumped off, and without needing to say anything, everyone charged in.

Most of the players attacked his horns, while others made sure he wasn't able to get back up, as they continuously attacked **Baran** 's face. As **Baran** fell into his final bar of Health, a loud echo pounded off the walls.

Kirito looked back at **Asterius** , and noticed him getting off of his throne. With a single jump, **Asterius** landed behind everyone, gaining their attention.

 **Baran** shook everyone off and got back to his feet.

 **Asterius** and **Baran** both let out a loud screech at the same time, that echoed throughout the entire room...

* * *

 **Real World**

 **Location: Kazuto's Hospital Room**

 **Time: 16:32**

Both Midori and Suguha had been watching the battle since it had begun.

When **Asterius** got up from his throne and jumped into battle, they both gasped. Only thinking the worst, Midori was quick to soothe Suguha's worry.

"Don't worry Suguha," she said from her chair. "Kazuto was the one who figured out their weakness. He will get them through this. And besides, he has 50 other players there."

Her mothers words rang true, though they did not soothe her worries. It was true Kazuto would figure something out, but what worried her the most was the chances of him dying. She looked at his HP gauge, and saw it was still in the 'Green Zone', as was all of his party members'.

They watched as the battle drew out.

A few minutes passed, and all that had happened was both **Asterius** and **Baran** continuously swing their Hammers down at the players, but they only dodged, and countered with their own set of skills. A few more minutes passed and Suguha noticed **Baran** drop down to the 'Red Zone'. Realizing their strategy, Suguha told her mother, "They are focusing on killing **Baran** before dealing with the **King**."

Midori only nodded as she continued to watch.

* * *

 **In-Game**

Activating a **Sonic Leap** , Kirito made contact with **Baran** 's left horn.

 **Baran** screeched in defeated, as he fell to his knees before he shattered. Kirito rolled off of his head, and sighed in relief. _There. Now we can move around more freely **.**_

Asuna stood before **Asterius** , right before he rounded his **Golden Hammer** , and aimed straight for her. Asuna made a quick jump backwards, and pounced forwards, and rounded so she was behind his legs. She activated a **Shooting Star** , and jumped, while making contact with the back of his knee.

 **Asterius** screeched in pain, as he fell to one knee, dropping his Hammer.

Asuna scaled his back and activated another **Shooting Star** , hitting one of his 6 horns. Kirito saw the **King** 's eyes glow bright red. Balling his hand into a fist, **Asterius** punched Asuna, knocking her into the air.

Kirito discarded his **Blade of Azure** to catch her, before setting her to the floor gently. Asuna quickly looked at her health, and noticed she had fallen to the 'Yellow Zone'.

* * *

 **Real World**

"See?" Midori pointed out to Suguha.

"Yeah, he definitely cares for her." Suguha noticed.

"Although, Kazuto will be Kazuto, and he won't admit to how much he does care about her," Midori told her daughter, as they both watched the battle rage on.

After a few minutes, Suguha finally asked, "Why? Has he always had trouble admitting this feelings?"

"Well not that I am aware of," Midori pondered, thinking back on her nephews life. Ever since the accident, she had taken him in. Though when he was 10 years old, he uncovered a news article about his parents death. And every since then, he had been distant. He outcasted both Midori and Suguha as strangers and never let either of them in.

"Ah," Suguha said, not letting her eyes leave the battle. "Say mother, why do you think Kazuto was so drawn to these games?"

"I don't Suguha," Midori lied. "I think he enjoyed the freedom of being able to do anything you want."

"Yeah, that does sound appealing." Suguha dreamed out loud. They continued to watch Kazuto fight **Asterius**. The battle dragged by with the players dodging the **King** 's swings. Though a few players did get hit, one player was extremely unlucky.

 **Asterius** swung his **Golden Hammer** horizontally, making contact with one player. Flying across the room, Kirito watched as he flew into the wall, shattering on impact.

"No!" Suguha exclaimed. "Even though it wasn't Kazuto, it still is a terrible thing."

Midori only remained silent. Her mouth had dropped open as she watched the boy make contact with the wall.

"Another player down..." Midori said trailing off.

* * *

 **In-Game**

Asuna only watch as the boy slammed into the wall.

She was glad it wasn't Kirito, but still upset they lost a player. She looked back at **Asterius** and noticed he had dropped into his final bar of health. From past experience, she knew this was where they became the most unpredictable.

"But this is when they make the most mistakes," Kirito read her mind as he appeared beside her.

"This is also where the most players get killed." She reminded Kirito.

"Touché," Kirito smiled a sly grin. Alicia appeared on his other side as they looked at the Boss before them. Without saying another word, the three of them rejoined the battle. Kirito looked and found Agil swinging his mace at **King** 's knee, making contact the **King** kicked out his leg, sending Agil flying. Angering the **King** , he swung his hammer faster, making contact with another player, sending them flying.

 **Asterius** watched as the player hit the wall, shattering. Kirito, Asuna and Alicia charged him while he was distracted, all three of them climbed his back and slashed at his horns, and before they knew it, **Asterius** shattered, causing the three of them to fall to the ground in a _Thud_.

'Congratulations!'

The sign of triumph appeared over all of their heads, signaling their win over Floor 2. Kirito looked up and saw many players only look at each other, not believing they just won.

A loud crumbling sound echoed throughout the room. Everyone looked over to the throne, and noticed it started to break. Crumbling to the ground, it revealed a doorway that led upwards to the next floor. Kirito looked back around at everyone and saw screens pop up.

Not caring what he got, he looked quickly to see if he got the Last Attacking Bonus.

 _Nope_. Kirito looked back up and surveyed everyone. He looked to his side and saw Asuna sheathing her Rapier at her hip. Noticing his glance, she looked up and smiled once. He made a point to check his party. Everyone in his party made it through the fight. Sighing in relief, he heard someone speak out.

"We only lost 2 players," Agil called out. He heard players sigh in relief that the number was so low. But any loss was a big loss. They didn't know if players could join them or not.

"Still. Those two players were two people, that is a loss itself," Kirito spoke out. Sheathing his blade, he looked back at the crumbled throne. "I am going ahead," Kirito stated while walking away towards the newly shown door. After ataking a few steps, Kirito looked back at Asuna and asked, "Coming?"

Asuna's eye's lit up, and she nodded once as she followed Kirito out of the Boss Room.

Agil only chuckled. He walked in front of the throne, and looked back to the Raiders. "See? He isn't as bad of a guy."

"Yeah he's not as bad as I originally thought," Alicia spoke out. More people agreed with that statement. "He cares more for Asuna than he is willing to admit though."

Alicia only chuckled at that, she sheathed her sword at her hip and helped Agil regroup everyone left in the room.

* * *

 **Real World**

Suguha and Midori both sighed in relief as Kirito walked out of the Boss Room safely. They went from being worried about Kazuto, to being intrigued with the new development.

"I think Kazuto and Asuna would make a cute couple," Suguha said elated.

Midori only laughed. "Its a game Suguha."

"Yeah, it might be for us. But they way everyone is acting, they are fighting for their lives. We look at it as a game, but for them, its their life right now," Sugu said looking back at the screen. She looked at the face of Asuna, and smiled.

"Yeah I guess you are right, Suguha. But for now, we need to head back to the house. I put dinner in the oven earlier today, and I hope its not burnt right now," Midori said before turning the Monitor off.

Suguha left the room in glee, after finally realizing why Kazuto was drawn to the Virtual World...

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Wow. Sorry that this chapter came out later than anticipated. I honestly don't know how the battles went, so I would really appreciate you guys dropping a review about how you guys liked them! I know the Field-Boss one was a bit iffy.

Now, I honestly have to thank EuclidWriter for editing this chapter. He is the reason why this chapter is how it is.

The main thing I wanted to say, is I need suggestions. I am only one person, and I only have one brain. So I need people to send in suggestions for plots for chapters. I will run out of ideas if you do not send in anything. I have gotten enough floor ideas, so I NEED plots. Any will be accepted, and you will be credited!

Until the next chapter!


	6. Limits

**Author's Note**

Thank you for my 100th Follower! I know it isn't HUGE, but I am a new writer to Fanficiton, so its big for me!

I would like to make one thing clear as of now: I will no longer have each floor have 2 chapters. Upon realizing it, that would mean over 200 chapters, and would take me over 4 years to complete. Though I wouldn't mind doing that, that goal seems a bit unrealistic. I will have each floor in the story, whether it is in the form of a Side Story, or a Battle of some sort. Now, if I have a side story going on, I will have two chapters for the floor, though not every floor will have its own little side story.

Now that that is off my chest, I would like to also say I have a new poll up and running. This one is more important than the last one, so I would like you guys to vote!

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing of Sword Art Online... D;**

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 3: Valkedor**

 **Location: A Hut (Southeast part of map)**

 **Time: 15:48**

Kirito and Asuna arrived on the Third Floor soon after the Boss had been defeated. Looking back, Kirito was surprised they only lost 2 players during the battle.

After climbing the stairs, the two of them entered the floor and appeared in a small hut. Kirito particularly remembered this floor quite vividly. As the pair walked out of the hut, they found themselves in an enclosed area. Kirito lead the two down a small narrow path that led further into the floor, flanked by two small bodies of murky water. Looking overhead, the sky was blocked by trees.

"Swamp," Asuna said out loud. Kirito only nodded, agreeing with Asuna's statement.

"This floor is one giant swamp. Though everything you'll see is swamp related, there is only one dungeon on this floor," Kirito said recalling his time on this floor. Leading the two of them through, the path narrowed down into the knee high water.

'Ewww!" Asuna squealed.

"Don't worry," Kirito smiled as he continued to walk as if not affected by it. "It's not that bad."

"Well, you're a boy!" Asuna refused to move. Kirito stopped a few feet away and turned back around to face her. After a moment, Kirito only sighed and looked away. "Don't give me that!"

"Will you just come already?" Kirito demanded. "It's almost 4 o'clock and I want to get to the town soon."

"There is a town here?" Asuna asked as she started to move her body towards the murky water.

"Yes, though it is a small one with mostly small huts. It would be better if we stayed in the hotel back in Grimsby," Kirito said as he was rewarded a strange look from Asuna. "There aren't any hotels or inns here. This floor is just a passing floor."

Asuna submerged one foot into the murky water. As she did, she groaned. "You are repairing these boots!" Kirito thought to himself, Water damage can't be fixed in Sword Art Online.

"You know, water can't damage equipment," Kirito explained as he trudged back over to her. "Come on." He turned his back towards her and bent down. Asuna got the message immediately.

"You want me to ride on your shoulders?" asked Asuna.

"Well, this is the fastest way to get you across the water, isn't it?" Kirito pouted, hiding his blush. Asuna retracted the foot that had been emerged in the murk. Looking over her shoulder, she made sure no one was with them. This would be too embarrassing if anyone else saw. Establishing the coast was clear, Asuna put both her legs over Kirito's shoulders. When she was ready, she mockingly patted his head.

"Onwards!" Asuna exclaimed, admiring her new height. Looking around, she mostly saw trees covered in vines. Without warning, Kirito took off making her fall backwards a bit. "Kirito-kun! Don't go so fast without warning me!"

"Yes ma'am," Kirito mocked as he slowed down a bit.

* * *

 **Real World**

 **Location: Asuna's Hospital Room**

 **Time: 16:01**

A few months have passed since Asuna had been trapped in that Death Game, and most of the Yuuki family had taken it pretty hard. Her older brother, Kouichirou Yuuki, had taken it the hardest.

On the day of the official launch of Sword Art Online, Kouichirou was planning on diving into it himself. After buying the game, he was suddenly called into work, and Asuna had asked to play the game herself. Ever since he found out she had been trapped in it, Kouichirou had blamed himself,

The day after Asuna had been moved to a hospital, he took it upon himself to go see her every chance he got; even if it was only for a few hours a week. Their, however, parents took it differently.

Their father, Shouzou Yuuki, took it almost just as hard as Kouichirou. He lost his 'Little Girl'. While their mother, Kyouko Yuuki, only took it as a minor setback. Ever since Asuna had turned 15, she made it her mission to find her a suitor. Kouichirou knew Asuna more than anyone else, and he knew she hated having her mother set her up with men she didn't like.

Weeks had passed with the three of them checking in on Asuna once a week. But when they installed the monitor in her hospital room that allowed them to see Asuna while she was in-game, her family started to visit her every chance they got. Kouichirou loved the idea of being able to watch Asuna while she was in the game, but their mother was opposed to it after a few days of watching.

When they first started spectating her, the family noticed she mostly kept to herself. She mainly only talked to a taller darker man, and sometimes a young boy with slick black hair. But after a while of watching, the Yuuki family realized Asuna and the boy had some history together. Of course over time, Kyouko assumed he was trying to take her for himself.

Being the overly overprotective mother, whenever the boy got close to Asuna, she would scream hysterically at the monitor, "GO AWAY! SHE'S NOT FOR YOU!"

"Mother!" Kouichirou would say back. "For one, they can't even hear you. And two, I don't really think that's his intention." Arguing back at his mother, his eyes remained on the monitor as the battle raged on between a large group of players, and a tall monster with 6 horns on his head.

Out of nowhere, Asuna got thrown into the air. Noticing this, Kouichirou quickly pressed the Third-Person View and saw the boy 'Kirito' discard his sword to catch her, breaking Asuna's fall. Kouichirou noted to himself that Asuna would have survived that fall, making the rescue from Kirito useless. Nevertheless, it was still thoughtful.

"See mom? He's harmless," he said in an attempt to help her realize that Kirito had only pure intentions.

Kyouko only grunted and turned away from the screen, making it so her face wouldn't seen by her son. Kouichirou only sighed and continued to watch the screen.

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 3: Valkedor**

 **Location: South-east of Tensby**

 **Time: 15:59**

After a while of Kirito carrying Asuna around, they finally broke out of the murky water that clouded their path. Asuna refused to get down until she was 100% sure she wouldn't be standing in any kind of murk.

"Asuna-san," Kirito addressed while looking over his shoulder. "You can get down now."

"No! There is still a little bit of swamp water!" She cried out. Kirito sighed and continued on his way towards the next town. Realizing where he was, Kirito heard a rustle in one of the bushes nearby. Activating his **Detective** skill, Kirito's eyes looked at the bush and saw a few broken branches, and a large bare-footed foot print.

 _Three. Two._ Kirito counted in his head. _One!_ He dropped Asuna and drew his **Blade of Azure**. Asuna squealed in surprise as she hit the ground with a _Thud!_ Not even a second later, a monster sprang out from behind the bush and began to swing its club. Not missing a beat, Kirito slashed horizontally, and severed his legs from the rest of it's body. Kirito jumped backwards and plunged his sword into the head of the monster, right after catching the monster's name.

 **Blood Thirsty Orc.**

"HEY!" Asuna yelled from the ground. "A LITTLE WARNING IS HELPFUL!"

Kirito offered a hand while he tried to suppress his laughter. Hearing him snicker, Asuna slapped his hand away. Asuna got up, then proceeded to wipe her bottom off while grunting at the touch of murk that was now on her. Kirito couldn't hold it in any more. Seeing Asuna wiping her bottom off set him off even more.

"HMPH!" Asuna grunted , and looked away while embarrassed.

A few minutes passed, before Kirito was able to pull himself together. Asuna on the other hand, was still embarrassed. She wouldn't meet Kirito's eyes as they continued on their way. After a few minutes of silent walking, Asuna spoke up.

"Kirito-kun," finally bringing her eyes to meet his. "What is the town are we going to?"

"From what Argo said, it's called Tensby. a small village located in the middle of the map. Luckily, there is only one path to Tensby, because it is the only town on this floor as well as in the middle of the map."

"Only town on this floor?" Asuna asked.

"Yup. Some floors may only have one or two towns. This floor is more like a place for training. Anywhere you go, there will be orcs," Kirito said while looking forwards. More time went by with only minimal confrontation with monsters. After another 10 minutes, they finally emerged into a wide open clearing. Looking up, Asuna noticed the sky was already dark. She checked her time and it read 4:13.

"This floor will always be this dark. More like a theme," Kirito answered her unasked question.

The continued to trudge forward to the small town that lied in front of them. As well as small, the huts too were very small in size. Walking into town, Kirito went straight for the Teleport Gate, and activated it. Shortly afterwards, Asuna looked up, and saw a notification saying,

"Floor 3, Valkedor, is now available to Boss Raid participants."

"That answers your question, Kirito-kun," Asuna answered the question of if players who weren't in the Raid Party could join them.

"I figured he would implement the rule as soon as he could," Kirito said sighing. He walked over to the gate and gestured her to follow.

"What? Are we not going to look around this place?" Asuna asked, trying to persuade Kirito to follow her into town to do a little shopping spree. Kirito looked over his shoulder, and sighed at her need to shop.

"Asuna-san, this floor has nothing but supplies for fighting. If you want to shop for clothing, we can go back to Floor 2, and you can have a party," Kirito said as he looked back at the gate. Quickly drawing open his menu, he looked at his Col, and saw he raised up to 15,089 after the Boss-Raid. Thinking back to the end result, Kirito thought, _I wonder who got the Last Attacking Bonus?_ Remembering that he, Asuna, and Alicia had all landed the final blows.

"Okay! You're buying right?" Asuna asked as she skipped back over to Kirito.

"You wish."

Kirito stepped on the portal, and was soon followed by Asuna. Kirito looked over at Asuna's pale face, realizing she had never used one of these before.

"First time?" Kirito asked with a little amusement in his voice.

"Maybe..." Asuna looked away.

"This is what you do," Kirito looked away and continued to say, "Teleport, Grimsby!" A light blue light formed around Kirito, shortly before he disappeared from sight. Asuna followed shortly afterwards.

 **Floor 2: Mutaun**

Asuna appeared a few seconds after Kirito stepped off the platform. Giving her a quick smile, Kirito turned around and started to walk in the direction of their hotel room. Blushing slightly, Asuna started to walk after him. Looking around, players all started to watch the pair walking. A few people came up to them and asked how the raid went.

Kirito either replied with 'Went well," or even "Little casualties." Asuna noticed more people started to trust Kirito. She only rarely heard a few people call him 'Beater', but other than that, no one mentioned his title. Asuna was thankful towards Agil for telling everyone off. This continued to happen until Kirito said where they were heading. Thinking they needed the rest, they started to back off one by one.

After they finally made it to the hotel room, Kirito unequipped his equipment and sat down on the love seat in the room, while Asuna made way for the couch. Both players needed a chance to unwind, given today's events, though the peace was only temporary.

Minutes passed in silence before Asuna spoke up.

"Say Kirito-kun," Asuna started, already fearing the conversation. Kirito looked away from the wall that he was staring at, and into Asuna's eyes. "Did you really mean what you said earlier? That we can't afford to think that we won't get out of here?"

"Yep," Kirito clearly stated. "If we think there is no hope, then we've lost." Looking away, Kirito remembered hearing Asuna mumble in her sleep. He looked back up at her and proceeded to talk. "Do you have nightmares about this place?"

Asuna's faced turned pale, and she looked to the floor. "Yeah, lately they have been effecting me even if I am awake. There are times I dream of what I might be doing in the real world. But then I wake up, and realize, THIS is my world. This is my reality. Sometimes I want to go to sleep, and not wake back up; be lost in the dream, and not wake up to this nightmare." Asuna's eyes grew hollow. She starred right through Kirito, and in a way it gave him chills.

"When I get up, I fear this world. I fear of dying. I fear of YOU dying more," Asuna said as she started to form a tear in her eye. "I fear if you die, I will be left alone. I would end up crying in this hotel until they day it's cleared, or until the day I die." Kirito looked away, not knowing what to do or say. However, Asuna continued her rant. "If you weren't there with me in the beginning, I would probably be crying on the first floor, not knowing what to do." Asuna teared up more. Kirito had enough of being useless, so without thinking, he got to his feet and sat beside her and pulled her into a tight hug.

"There are a lot of players like you," Kirito reassured as he stroked her hair in comfort. "who are also afraid of dying. Yet they still laugh, cry and live as best as they can. They fight for the day we are able to escape this hell. I promise you Asuna," Kirito comforted. "I don't care if I have to solo the rest of this game myself, I promise to you I will make sure you escape this hell. You won't die, I will make sure of that."

Kirito looked at her teary-eyed face, and did his best to dry the tears that wouldn't stop falling.

"Pr-promise me y-you won't d-die," Asuna pleaded.

"I promise," was all Kirito said, before he pulled her back into the hug. Kirito continued to comfort her, until he knew she was stable enough to be left alone. He got up and walked across the room to the door. "I'll be back, Asuna."

"Where are you going?" Asuna managed to say, before he left the room.

"I need to go into town to get a few things, when I get back we can have dinner. Then, we can go shopping," Kirito said as Asuna's eyes lit up at the word 'Shopping'. Kirito smiled at her before turning the door open, and exiting the room, leaving Asuna alone to her thoughts.

Kirito made his way out of the hotel, and walked to the open plaza, hoping to see someone he knew. The plaza was full of players. He realized that some of the players had just broken out of their shell, and decided to join the rest of the players who wanted to complete this game. Kirito looked at many faces, hoping to see Klein, but much to his disappointment, he did not see Klein.

"Yo, Kirito-kun," A voice said, startling Kirito. Turning around, Kirito spotted a familiar wavy dark blonde hair that was tied back into a pony tail. She wore a dark blue cloak that resembled that of Kirito's **Coat of Midnight**. Everything was the virtually same, but the color.

"Alicia," Kirito replied, remembering her from his Second Floor Boss Raid party.

Alicia smiled a warm smile at Kirito, and spoke once more. "Why did you and Asuna bolt after the Raid?" She asked as she leaned forwards a bit.

"Ahhh-" Kirito stuttered as he put one hand behind his head. "No reason for us to stay?"

"Hmmmm," she muttered unconvinced. "Where is Asuna-san by the way?"

"She is back in her hotel room, getting some rest. Why aren't you on the Third Floor? I would assume you would want to be scouting for the Field-Boss?"

"I could ask you the same question," Alicia said giving him another warm smile. Kirito blushed as he pulled his hand away from the back of his head. "Why don't we go somewhere else? This place is a bit too crowded."

Kirito followed her lead as they walked out of the plaza.

"Say Alicia," Kirito began as they continued to walk. "Did you get the Last Attacking Bonus on **Asterius**?"

"Yeah, you're looking right at it." Alicia gestured her hand to the cloak. " It's called the **Cloak of the Fallen King**. Ironic that the king dropped it."

"Nice," Kirito said as they rounded another corner. Kirito was hesitant, not wanting to say what was on his mind. He decided to go for it. Regardless of the outcome, he had to know her answer. "Say, I have a favor to ask you. Do you know Agil?"

Alicia only nodded her head, not commenting.

"Could you and him go and scout for the Floor's Field-Boss?" Kirito asked.

"Sure. But why not you go with him and Asuna? You know, like you guys did last time?" Alicia wondered.

"I think Asuna needs a few days to unwind. Lately, it seems nightmares have been effecting how she thinks and acts. So I want to make sure she is 100% before she rejoins the Clearers."

"Clearers?" Alicia asked.

"Oh, I thought we should have a name for the lead group of players who make it their mission to complete this game. Stupid name?" Kirito asked looking ahead.

"No, I think it's fitting. And you said she's been having nightmares?" Alicia questioned. "Do you know what of?"

"She didn't get into it, but she needs some time. At this point, I am tempted to leave her until we clear Floor 5, you know. That's when other players can catch up to us..." Kirito trailed off while opening his 'Friends Menu'.

Tapping Agil's name, he checked his location.

"Agil is in Tensby on Floor 3. Would you mind asking him? I'll send him a message saying everything. You just have to show up," Kirito said.

"Sure, I'll go right now." Alicia said as they reentered the plaza with a Teleporter. "No need to thank me," She said as she winked at Kirito. Chuckling, Kirito turned around and started to walk back towards the hotel room.

* * *

 **Real World**

 **Asuna's Hospital Room**

 **Time: 14:58**

Asuna's brother, Kouichirou, was touched by Kirito's gesture.

Though no one in the room could hear what Asuna had been saying, their father, Shouzou and their mother, Kyouko, had all understood what went on. Kouichirou explained to his parents that Asuna broke down under the pressure the game was having on her, and Kirito was there to offer a shoulder to cry on.

"See mother?" Kouichirou looked into his mother's eyes. "He means no harm to Asuna."

"You may be right. But you don't think we are going to let him take her heart, are we?" Kyouko asked her husband. Pleading her eyes, Shouzou wouldn't return her gaze. He once made a vow to himself, if any man came into his daughters life and comforted Asuna like had, he would let that man into her life.

"To be honest darling, this boy has proven how sincere he is."

"You can't be serious? Are you saying you would let this boy take her away from us? We don't know his background! Is he wealthy? Does his family have influence?" Can he-"

"Mom! None of that matters! What matters is what SHE thinks of him!" Kouichirou defended Kirito. He was the one at blame for Asuna being in the game. He accepted the responsibility a while ago, so now he was going to defend Asuna until she is out of the game. Kyouko had enough of it. She turned around and stormed out of the room.

Not caring, Kouchirou looked back at the monitor in front of them and continued to watch Asuna as she was sitting on the couch, alone.

"I'll talk to her," his father said. Kouchirou only nodded, not even bothering to look back at his father. "Would you really trust this boy?"

"Yes. In these types of games, players normally act different that how they usually would. Since no one knows them, they can be anyone. Sometimes, people like to play as villains. They like to feel powerful. In control. I wouldn't be surprised if players turn towards killing other players. But Kirito seems different. Genuine. Sincere. I would trust him with my life if I were in Asuna's position," Kouchirou said as he spaced out.

Nodding once, Shouzou looked up at the screen once more before deciding nothing else would be happening. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah," he responded as he got up from his chair and exited the room with his father.

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 2: Mutaun**

 **Location: Kirito's and Asuna's Hotel Room**

 **Time: 8:31**

A day had passed since Kirito had spoken to Alicia about her and Agil scouting for the Field-Boss. Kirito woke up the same time he usually would, right before Asuna would hit him with a pillow.

Throwing his arms up in an immediate defense, Kirito realized no pillow was descending. Sitting upright, he looked over to Asuna's bed, and found an empty bed with no sleeping girl in it. Kirito's eyes shot open, as he went to get up.

 _BAM!_

His foot snagged the blanket, and he fell of the bed in a face-plant.

Hearing footsteps quickly approaching, the door shot open and a dressed Asuna with a spatula in her hand was standing in the doorway, trying to suppress her giggles.

"Again, Kirito-kun?" Asuna chuckled, earning a grunt from Kirito.

"I panicked when I didn't see you aiming a pillow for my face," Kirito quipped back as he struggled his way to his feet. After standing up straight, he looked at Asuna, and saw her suppressing her laugh even more. "What?"

"Nothing," Asuna said as she pushed away the urge to laugh. Kirito only grunted as he walked by her and entered the living room. Asuna followed suit, and walked into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the two of them. Kirito made way and set the table, while Asuna brought out the food and set it down.

"Smells good, Asuna," Kirito said as he admired the food that was presented to him.

"Thank you, Kirito-kun. Have you heard anything from Agil or Alicia?" She wondered as she sat down opposite of Kirito.

Kirito drew open his menu and looked in the messages. Expecting there to be nothing, Kirito was surprised when he saw a message from Alicia. "Uh, Alicia sent me something apparently," Kirito surprisingly said as he opened up the message and read it out loud.

" ' _Kirito,_

 _After me and Agil went and scouted for the Boss,_

 _we were planning on telling you right away, but Agil_

 _Decided to just have a Meeting for the Field-Boss._

 _We will hold in at 9:30 in Tensby. It is the easiest location_

 _to hold it, due to accessibility. We sent out a message to_

 _the other players, but I wanted to tell you through a message._

 _You're Welcome._

 _~Alicia_ ' "

Kirito spoke as he started to chow down on his food, not even knowing or caring what it was.

"When do we want to go there?" Asuna asked as she took another bite of her food.

"Well for one, you are staying here. You are not coming with us for this Field-Boss Raid." Kirito stated as he closed his eyes as he took another bite, not wanting to see the look Asuna was giving him.

"And why do you think I am not coming with you?" Asuna glared at him.

"When you told me your nightmares are starting to trouble you when you are awake," Kirito reopened his eyes and looked into Asuna's eyes as the bore into him. "You need a few days off, you know it's true."

"But what if something happened to you while you were off fighting?" Asuna questioned. "You remember what I said yesterday don't you? My nightmare is of YOU dying. If you die, I am alone."

Kirito looked away from her pained eyes. "I know Asuna, but you need the rest. I won't die, remember? I need to be alive. Not for Agil, not for my family, but YOU." Kirito looked back at her and continued, "If I were to die, who would protect you? Who would make sure you are able to leave this place?"

"No one. That is why I want to make sure you DON'T die," Asuna pleaded.

"I have Alicia, Agil, and Alicia's group. I'll be fine. There is no room for suggestions. I am standing firm at you NOT going."

Asuna sighed and leaned back in her chair as she closed her eyes. "Fine."

"Good," Kirito said in victory.

Kirito decided to leave early so he could squeeze in some training before he went to the meeting, so he decided to leave the hotel room, and go the Tensby at 9:00.

After saying goodbye to Asuna, he left the room and went straight to the Teleporting Gate, which was only a few minutes away from the hotel room. He saw a few players who asked him 'How was the Boss?', or 'When are you guys going to clear Floor 5? I missed the Boss meeting so...'

Kirito answered their questions as he walked to the Gate, they eventually got the hint that he was going to a meeting, so they stopped asking questions.

After getting to Tensby, Kirito spotted Alicia a few seconds after he stepped off the gate. Alicia caught Kirito's gaze and returned a smile as she approached Kirito.

"Hey!" she said as she stopped in front of him. "Where is Asuna?"

Alicia began looking around, fearing something happened to her, but was soon reassured by Kirito.

"Like I said, she is staying in her hotel room. I told her she shouldn't fight the Field-Boss," Kirito said as he started to walk into town.

"You managed to convince her to stay put?" Alicia said in an awed manner. Alicia started to follow Kirito, as they started to walk out of town. She knew immediately that Kirito would want to talk about what they had seen, but she also knew Kirito would want to do a bit of grinding before they went to the meeting.

"Tchk! Took me a bit to convince her. She wouldn't back down on her part, but I got her to realize she needed a bit of rest before heading back into the battle," Kirito drew his **Blade of Azure** , and approached a small clearing ahead, readying for anything that would come their way.

Alicia followed suit, as she drew her **Anneal Blade**. She heard rustling, and started to say something, but before she could manage a word, a light filled her sight. A second later, she heard a slight squeal, before it was silenced by another flash of light. Alicia was amazed at Kirito's reflexes, and how fast he reacted to the **Orc**.

"A warning next time would have been nice!" Alicia said.

"Yeah yeah," Kirito brushed off, remembering this conversation with Asuna. Kirito lead the way once again, as he started to talk. "So, the Field-Boss. Anything you would like to share?"

"Ah, right!" Alicia spoke. "Name is **The Blood Thirsty King Orc**. Slow, 3 health bars. Wields a wooden club, and packs a mean punch. Though it is slow, it has incredible defense. My advice for this one would be to put 4 Vanguards up in front while having 4 more Vanguards prepared to switch in. When it swings, we block or dodge and attack when it is reeling its club back," Alicia explained her reasoning.

"Hmm," Kirito thought over the plan. "Good strategy, but what happens if a Vanguard can't switch out in time?" Kirito asked.

Alicia stopped in her tracks as she watched Kirito slay another Orc in the same manner. He cut its legs out from underneath it. Then when it wasn't able to move, he would plunge it into its scalp, making it shatter.

"We can have some players offer support to the Vanguards, making sure they are defended while switching out. Would that work?" She asked while waiting for Kirito's response.

"Good idea, but we should tell the rest of the clearers this. It is the group's decision. I don't see why we wouldn't follow through with it." Kirito checked the time and saw it was 9:20. He turned back around and looked into her eyes. "We should head back into town, the meeting will be starting in 10 minutes."

Alicia only nodded as she turned around and headed back the way from where they once came from.

They got back with only a few minutes to spare. It was pretty clear that they were one of the last ones to arrive, but needless to say, no one said a word as the two of them approached Agil, who was at the bottom of the square. Kirito gave Agil a slight nod, and gestured him to start the meeting.

"Where is Asuna?" Agil asked quietly.

"She is back in our hotel room. She needs a few days to rest, so I made her stay." Kirito looked at the crowd of people who had all taken seats, and were all now facing him.

"Hmmph!" Agil grunted as he cleared his throat. "Good Morning all. I thank you all for coming, but let's skip the pleasantries, shall we?" Agil asked as he commenced the meeting. "As most of you have already figured out, the monsters that are sprawled out across this floor, are all Orc themed. So naturally the Field-Boss would have some relations to the **Blood Thirsty Orcs**." Agil paused as he looked around.

"So me and a small party scouted this floor, and found the layer of the Field-Boss. Its name is **The Blood Thirsty King Orc**. With..." Kirito spaced out at Agil's explanation, mainly because he had already heard the details from Alicia. Kirito couldn't help but wonder what Asuna was doing. Had she stayed in the room like told to? Or did she follow Kirito here? Dismissing these thoughts, Kirito refocused on the conversation when Alicia started to give her strategy for the fight.

"... When the **King** is reeling his club back in, we attack and make sure to dodge its fist as it swings." Alicia finished explaining and asked if anyone had any questions. To which no one offered any questions.

"Okay if no one has any ques-" Agil began.

"-Uhh!" Someone spoke out.

"Yes," Agil asked the woman standing up.

"Does Kirito-kun have any suggestions?" she said, putting the spot light onto Kirito, who was thrown back at the sudden plead for this input. She had curly black hair, then fell down to the middle of her back. Wearing casual clothing, Kirito remembered her from Agil's group.

"But I'm not the leader of this raid, Agil is." Kirito rebutted. Earning a few players to murmur among themselves. "Plus I am the 'Beater'," he added under his breath.

"Agil is the unspoken leader. Truthfully, you are more of the leader type than Agil, no offense Agil," she said as she put her hands behind her back. Kirito was thrown back at this. He never saw himself as the leader type. He only offered ideas and strategies, but he could see why she would think that.

"Hey! I agree with you, but Kirito doesn't think he is up for it himself." Agil closed his eyes as he crossed his arms across his chest. Kirito looked around at everyone, and some agreed with the statement, but others had a blank expression, not showing any interest in telling their thoughts. "Kirito, are you going to lead this Raid?"

Kirito looked back at Agil, then looked at everyone else, not sure if he should or not. "Maybe the Boss Raid, not this one," Kirito decided, while looking back at the woman. "But I did help Alicia put together the strategy, to answer your question."

She only nodded as she sat back down. Kirito looked back at the sky, noting how murky it was. Can't wait till we get to the next floor. This one is a bit too dark for me. Kirito thought as he started to think about Asuna again.

"Well that settles it, we will leave shortly," Agil said as he started to count the players.

Kirito walked off out of the square, and headed for a few shops to buy some potions. He looked into the corner of his screen, and saw Asuna's HP gauge still there. One condition for him going alone was to stay in the party with her so she could monitor his health throughout the battle.

"So needy," Kirito said out loud.

"Who is?" A voice said behind him, making him jump a little. Kirito turned around and saw the same woman from earlier. Her black curly hair was pulled back behind her ears, and her brown eyes bore into Kirito.

"Oh, just someone I am partying with. No worries," Kirito faked a smile for her pleasure.

"Ah," she said. "Oh! How rude of me! I never told you my name. My name is Soora!" she said with a smile.

"Nice to meet you, Soora-san. Just wondering, why did you suggest that I should be the leader?" Kirito questioned, being rewarded a small blush from her.

"I just thought you wanted to be the leader," she looked away. "You don't know do you?"

"Know what?" Kirito curiously asked.

"How much you do for everyone. You save people without knowing, and without asking anything in return. Like what you did for that girl back in the Field-Boss raid. You know, on the Second Floor."

"Yeah-yeah I remember," Kirito said as he gestured to walk back to the square. "She and I have a bit of a history, and I promised her I would make sure she escaped this place." Kirito started to walk back to the square.

"Ah. I don't have someone that I can rely on as much as she does. Why isn't she here?" Soora asked.

"She has been affected by some thoughts that make it hard for her to focus. I don't want her to go out there and die," Kirito said as he approached Agil, abruptly ending the conversation with Soora. "Agil, when are we heading out?"

Agil turned to face Kirito, and answered with a quick, 'Soon'. He continued, "Once the other players come back, we will head out."

Kirito nodded and sat down behind Agil, and started to think of what might happen today. He already asked Alicia if they could party once more, due to the absence of Asuna. Alicia agreed, mentioning she would love too. Minutes passed as players started to come back from the town or some last minute grinding. Looking around, he saw a small group of players that looked like the Vanguards for this battle.

Looking back at the tarnished sky, Kirito couldn't help but think about the Boss they would soon be facing off against.

 **Droggel The Golem Lord**.

Kirito remembered too much about this Boss. He was very large, but had no weapons but his iron fists. Kirito shivered at the memory of when the Boss's fists hit the ground.

Agil looked around and saw the players chatting in small groups. He spoke up and asked, "Is everyone here ready?"

Some people nodded, while other players shouted small 'Yes' or 'Now or Never'. Kirito only nodded when Agil looked his way.

"Alright then, off we go!"

 _Meanwhile in Grimsby..._

Asuna collapsed onto the couch in a loud sigh.

To her, Kirito had been gone for hours, but it had barely been 2 hours since he left for the meeting. Asuna knew where Kirito had been coming from by making her stay, though Asuna didn't want to accept it. She wanted someone who would be there for her, and she had someone.

But she hated that she couldn't be there for Kirito. She kept thinking about leaving the hotel room and going off to find him, but she knew he would scold her for it. Asuna gave up this fight, and continued to feel useless.

"Why did you have to say that, Kirito-kun?" she asked as she rolled onto her back. Starring at the ceiling, she relived their conversation the night before. She showed him her weak side, and instead of turning away from it, he embraced it. "Why don't you let me help you? URGH!" she screamed as she put a pillow to her face in frustration.

She left the pillow there for a few minutes as she continued to squeal like a little kid.

After removing it, she stared into the ceiling, sighing in defeat.

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 3: Valkedor**

 **Location: A few minutes away from the Field-Boss**

 **Time: 11:25**

Agil and Kirito lead the way to the lair of the Field-Boss.

Behind Kirito was Alicia and her small party. They were followed by their Vanguards, who would be doing the most work in the fight. Kirito was apologetic to them for making them do the most work, but they didn't seem to mind doing much of the leg work.

They were surrounded by trees, and the path they were on had a small layer of filth. If Asuna were here, he would have had to give her a piggy-back ride across. Though he didn't mind doing so much for Asuna, sometimes he wouldn't mind a break. Thoughts of Asuna consumed his head until Agil rattled him out with small talk.

"So how's Asuna doing?" Agil asked , remembering Kirito's explanation about her condition earlier.

"When I left her she was doing well. But it might take some time," Kirito said, keeping his eyes on the trail ahead of him.

"How long?" Agil asked, worrying about leaving her behind a floor.

"Only a few days. Nothing major, she needs time to relax is all. She broke down last night, and I told her to relax for a few days. She reluctantly agreed, after some convincing."

"As to be expected of her, she is quite the stubborn one. She gives you a run for your money." Agil chuckled, remembering past events. The continued in silence for the next few minutes, as they started to approach a small entrance of a cave.

Kirito and Agil both stopped in front of the entrance. Kirito turned around and faced the rest of the players and asked, "Is everyone ready?" He saw most of them nod, while some replied back to him. Some players shouted, 'Hell yeah!' while others simply said 'Now or Never'. Kirito continued, "Remember one thing, if you have to use a teleporting crystal to escape the Field-Boss's strike, do not be ashamed. Our lives are worth more than advancing in this game."

"With that said," Agil took over, "Let's go!" He drew his sword and started to advance into the cave. Kirito pulled out his **Blade of Azure** , and soon after others followed in suit, by readying their weapons. Only a few people knew what was about to go down. Kirito remembered a lot about this Field-Boss. They only thing he really remembered about this floor was the main Boss. To this day, he still feared its **Iron Fists**.

Following Agil, Kirito and the other players cautiously walked down the cavern. The cave was dark, and the ceiling was dripping water, making a few players jump. Kirito brushed it off, and continued to follow Agil. There were torches that were spaced off down on the walls, adding some light to the room. A few minutes passed since they had entered the cave, and Kirito could tell people were starting to get anxious about when they would arrive. Kirito quickened his pace so he was walking alongside Agil.

"How much longer?" Kirito asked. "People are starting to freak out." Agil only pointed ahead. Kirito strained his eyes as he tried to see what was ahead.

In the distance, Kirito was able to see light coming out from a room. Kirito nodded and announced to everyone, "We are almost there guys, just a bit further." Kirito saw a few players nod their heads as they continued to advance into the cave. Kirito walked back next to Agil, and whispered a quick, "Good Luck."

"You too kid," Agil said as he readied his **Mace**.

As they approached the room, Kirito saw a large 2 meter tall looking **Orc** who held a large **Wooden Club** that was about half his size. A player behind Kirito muttered "Holy shit." A few players giggled at his commentary as they got close to the room. Kirito too smiled for a second, before he quickly got serious once again.

"Vanguards." Agil announce. "You guys go in before us and distract it while the rest of us get into place. Once we are flanking it, that's when the back-up Vanguards switch in. After that, Alicia here will tell you when to switch positions. Got it?"

Players nodded their heads as the Vanguards made their way to the front of the crowd. Kirito figured there was about 45 players here. Even though they didn't need everyone here, it was nice to have the numbers.

"Three."

"Two."

"One!"

"GO!" Agil shouted as the players charged their way into battle.

* * *

 **Real World**

 **Location: Kazuto's Hospital Room**

 **Time: During the Field-Boss Battle**

Suguha and Midori entered the room when Kirito was in a dark cave.

Suguha immediately figured out what was about to happen, given the amount of players that surrounded Kirito. Suguha looked at her mother and saw she was trying to see the screen better.

"He is getting ready to fight a Boss," Sugu explained to her mother.

"I realized that, but where is Asuna? You know, the girl that Kazuto has been partying with?" She said as she made the screen go into a Third-Person point of view, trying to locate Asuna. After deciding she was not there, Suguha took the remote from her mother and went back into First-Person View. Suguha pointed at the top of the screen and showed Midori Asuna's HP gauge.

"She may not be here, but she is still alive," Suguha reassured her mother. "At this point, I am afraid to see Kazuto without her."

"Yeah, they have been together for a few months now, haven't they?" Midori said as she sat down in the chair next to the sleeping Kazuto. Yesterday was the start of February. 4 days from now, it would be the 3 month anniversary since Kazuto had put on the gear and became part of the Death Game. Midori couldn't believe 3 months had already passed since then. Midori still remembered the day she came home to him in that bed, stuck, like it was yesterday.

As Midori got lost in thought, she missed the battle begin.

"' **The Blood Thirsty King Orc**?'" Midori read the title of the Field-Boss. "Sounds terrifying."

"You ain't lying," Suguha remarked as Kirito side-stepped the club that was aimed for him. Kirito ran in closer, and attacked the King as it was readying another attack. Backing off, a few players took his place in acting as a guard for the other players. Their strategy was easy to see. A small group of players act as meat shields as the rest of them attacked its sides.

"Smart strategy," Midori noted as she watch Kirito re-approach it.

Kirito sprinted in after its club was at a safe distance away. As he readied his sword, the **King's** knee extended and swung out at Kirito, hitting him in the face. The impact sent him flying backwards.

"Kazuto!" both parties screamed.

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 2: Mutaun**

 **Location: Asuna's Hotel Room**

 **Time: 12:03**

Asuna watched Kirito's HP gauge like a hawk. Whenever it went down a little, she would gasp. That was, until it suddenly dipped down into the yellow zone.

"Kirito-kun!" she yelled at no one as she sat up in her bed. Once the battle began, she started to hate herself for following Kirito's instructions for her to stay here where it was is no way for me to help him! She scolded herself.

She lied back down in her bed, as she did the only thing she could do for him.

Watch.

 _Field-Boss's Cave..._

"Kirito-kun!" Alicia shouted as she ran to his side. Helping him sit up, she saw his health dip into the deep yellow zone. "As reckless as always, aren't you?" She scolded after she made sure he could stand by himself.

"Shut up," Kirito half teased, while the other half of him meant it. Without warning, Kirito ran back into battle as he saw the club of the King start to descend again, aiming for a small group of players that were trying to recover.

"WATCH OUT!" Kirito yelled, getting their attention. He sprinted past them, and met the **Wooden Club** midair. Kirito's momentum was enough to make the club change direction, and land just left of the group. Kirito landed on his feet and rolled backwards, and readied his weapon to defend the recovering group. A few of them thanked him, while the others were trying to stand up. "Potions!" Kirito yelled at them, getting their attention. **The Blood Thirsty King Orc** stumbled backwards due to Kirito's block, but it didn't miss a beat, when it swung its **Wooden Club** once more. This time, Kirito was the only one who could do anything. Everyone else was either trying to recover, or trying to get over to help.

Kirito placed his sword on his back, and readied a skill. He jumped at full speed, and met the Wooden Club in the air once again. This time, Kirito focused all of his strength on the blade, aiming at the looming club.

 **BAM!**

Kirito was thrown back at the small explosion of the **King's club** shattering.

Landing with a _Thud_ , the other players did not hesitate to start attacking. The King was overwhelmed, since it now had no way of defending itself while being attacked. The only thing it could do was flail its arms at the oncoming players, but they mimicked Kirito, just like how he approached it. The players side-stepped and shortened the distance as it readied to attack once more.

Kirito plunged his sword into the ground as he got to his feet for support. His **Blade of Azure** glowed once more as he charged in at full speed. He pointed his sword in front of him as he leaped and plunged the sword into the **King**.

"GGROOOOAAAHH!" It bore its teeth in defeat as it shattered, making Kirito fall to the ground. Rolling to his feet, Kirito slowly sheathed his sword as he looked around at the players.

Kirito sighed in relief. After counting them, he confirmed to himself that they had not lost any players.

"No casualties," Kirito announced to everyone. "Phew, that means we will have all 47 players for the Boss-Raid." Kirito momentarily shivered as he remembered the Boss.

"Yeah, no casualties, thanks to you," a player spoke. Kirito remembered his face from the small group of players he had saved, right before he destroyed the Boss's weapon. Everyone started to nod along with his comment. Truthfully, Kirito thought he was just doing something anyone would have done in his situation.

"I just did what anyone else would have done," Kirito explained, embarrassed.

"Yeah maybe, but I don't think anyone else here could have destroyed the weapon like you did," the same player commented back. "Were you even aiming to destroy the weapon?"

"Uh, Yeah."

"Woah!" A few players exclaimed in amazement. "What level is he?!" some players asked discussing among themselves. Kirito opened his menu and displayed his information page, showing his Level and Col.

"Level 26?! I'm only level 18!" One player shouted out. Some people commented on how much Col he had. 23,756. Kirito didn't like how everyone was discussing him, so he tried to change the subject.

"Erhem!" Kirito said out loud. The players stopped their conversations, and looked at him. "I think we all should take a week to train or relax. I remember this Boss from the Beta, and it was a very difficult battle. If I may, could I ask you all one thing?"

Agil answered for everyone, knowing all the players would say the same thing, "Of course, you probably have saved everyone here at least once."

Kirito flashed him a quick smile before looking back at everyone. "This Boss is not the easiest. What I want to ask everyone here, is for you all to try to get to at least level 20. The Bosses name is **Droggel The Golem Lord**. It wields no weapons, but it uses its **Iron Fists**. Its defense is incredibly high, and its attacks pack a punch. When its fists makes contact with the floor, it sends out a large shock wave that knocks players back," Kirito said as he allowed the information to sink in.

No one said a word.

The 'Beater' who was once hated, was slowly becoming their leader. Agil noticed this, and he accepted it. Agil was there to take the position of leader after Diavel died. However, he didn't want to be the leader for the rest of the raids, he only wanted to support players who had a difficult time with the game.

"We can do that," Alicia said, earning a few nods from the other players.

Kirito nodded his head at Alicia, and continued to speak. "Okay, thank you. I have a strategy for the Boss, but we can wait for the meeting to discuss that. Agil," Kirito said as he turned his head to face Agil.

"Yes, Kirito?"

"We should have the meeting next week. By then Asuna should be well rested, and we will be battle ready. So will you guys." Kirito turned back to face everyone else and continued, "I need to get back to my partner, and I hope the next time we are all in this position, is after we defeat **Droggel**." Kirito took out his teleporting crystal, and said a few goodbyes to the remaining players, before chanting, "Teleport! Grimsby!"

Kirito was covered in a light blue light until he disappeared from sight...

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 2: Grimsby**

 **Location: Kirito and Asuna's Hotel Room**

 **Time: Shortly after Field-Boss Raid**

Asuna sighed in relief when she saw his HP gauge go back to full health, thinking 'Good, the battle must be over.'

Rolling over so she was laying on her stomach, she turned the TV on and started watching a random channel just to pass the time. Asuna started to wonder to herself how long it would be until he would be back, given he would want to check out the next town.

Shortly afterwards, a panting Kirito burst open through the door.

"Eh?!" Asuna squealed in surprise.

"I'm back," he announced before walking in and closing the door. He walked across the room and sat down on the arm chair, then looked at Asuna's surprised face. Chuckling he asked, "What? You didn't expect me to be back so quickly?"

"Ye-yeah!" Asuna managed to say.

"Well, I thought you would be worried..." Kirito said as he scratched his cheek. Being slightly embarrassed. Asuna only giggled at this, she sat up straight and looked at him. Something about him seemed different, but she couldn't figure out what it was.

"Something about you changed..." Asuna said as she started to study him.

"Ehh-" Kirito stuttered. "Oh, I think I earned more people's trust."

"That's good!" Asuna said as she looked him in the eyes. "Did you get anything good from the Field-Boss?" Asuna asked Kirito, noticing that he still had on this battle equipment. He pulled his hand out from behind his head, and put it on one of the arm rests.

"Oh. Yeah, I got a drop," he said, completely forgetting about this Last-Attacking Bonus. He scrolled through his item menu, before stopping on the sword.

 **The Blood Venom Broadsword**.

The handle was your standard leather grip, but the blade was completely black, except the outline of the blade, which was a dark red that glowed in the light in the room.

"Woah!" Asuna said, wondering its stats. "What is its stats and requirements?"

"Level 25, and it has the same attack as my **Blade of Azure** , with 22 attack, but it has 1 less speed. But that is without being upgraded at all," Kirito finished explaining. He looked into Asuna's eyes and noticed a curious look in her eyes.

"Why don't you use that sword instead? I mean if you upgrade it, it will be better than your Blade of Azure, right?" Asuna asked.

"Yeah, but for now, I think I'll stick with my **Blade of Azure**. If players start questioning about me getting it, they could potentially lose trust in me. Starting off on the whole 'Beater' thing again. I think I'll upgrade it, then use it in an emergency.

"Ah," Asuna said. "While you were gone, I did some shopping, AND I repaired my equipment. So we don't have to do that for a bit."

Kirito sighed in relief that the old Asuna was back, but proceeded to kill her mood. "You aren't going to see combat until the day after tomorrow, just to let ya know," Kirito said as he got up and started to head towards their bedroom.

"NOT FAIR!" She exclaimed as she threw a pillow at Kirito, to which it hit him in the back of his head.

"Hey!" He picked up the pillow and threw it back at her while she was distracted by her own laughing fit. Hitting her square in the face, Kirito did a mock 'Success' fist pump. Asuna took the pillow off of her face, and glared at Kirito, before launching it at him.

"AHH!" He said as the pillow hit his face, knocking him onto the floor.

Asuna fell off the couch in a laughing fit. Kirito too couldn't hold in his laughter, so he just let himself get enveloped in a giggle fit, causing Asuna to laugh more. Kirito took off his equipment, and took the pillow and walked over and stood over Asuna, who started to come out of her giggling fit. He gave her a devilish glare, and put the pillow over her face, causing her to try to fight him off.

Instinctively, Asuna kicked upwards, hitting Kirito in his privates.

Kirito yelled in mock pain as he fell to the floor next to her.

"That's what y-you g-get!" Asuna managed to say.

"F-fair enough," Kirito said as he lied there for who knew how long...

 _One Week Later..._

Kirito woke up a few minutes early, due to the events that are about to go down.

The Floor 3 Boss Raid.

Kirito wanted to show up early for the meeting for this Boss Raid, due to it being his first time leading one. Dragging himself out of bed, Kirito looked over at Asuna's sleeping figure, and knew what had to be done.

Kirito tip-toed across the room, and stood over Asuna's bed with a pillow in hand. He quickly got on the bed and stood over her with the pillow above his head, ready to strike. Swinging the pillow downwards, he repeated the chant he grew too accustomed to over the past months.

"Get."

"Out."

"Of."

"BED!" he struck the pillow harder each time, making sure she would wake up. Asuna woke up with a start after the first one, and tried to shield herself from the other blows.

"Eeeek!" She squealed as she squirmed in the bed. "Why did you do that?!" She said as she sat upright. Kirito jumped backwards and off of her bed.

"I'm just giving you a taste of your own medicine," Kirito said as he stuck out his tongue. "You wake me up like that every morning, and now I see why. It was kind of fun!"

"Don't get any ideas!" Asuna scolded, getting out of bed.

"I still owe you 3 months of those," Kirito reminded Asuna as he followed her out of the room. Hearing Asuna sigh in frustration gave Kirito a special kind of joy. "Today is the Boss Raid, if you forgot."

"I remembered. The only reason why I am now level 24 is because of you," Asuna retorted, as she tried to remember how many **Orc** 's she had slaughtered in the last week. "And don't give me the whole 'I am level 30!' speech," Asuna said cutting him off from making the speech.

"Fine be that way..." Kirito looked away. "But I am."

Asuna shot him a quick glare that quickly made him shut up.

"Well the meeting is in an hour, but I want to be there before it starts," Kirito said as he checked the time. '8:35'. He walked to the edge of the kitchen, as he watched Asuna start to prepare them both a quick breakfast, before they went to the meeting in Tensby. After being named head of the Boss-Raids, Kirito wanted to make sure his strategy would be flawless. They still had two more floors until other players would have a chance to catch up. For the past few days, players had continuously approached Kirito and kept asking how much longer until they would be clearing Floor 5. Most of the time, he would just ignore them, but sometimes he would tell them it would be awhile.

After they ate breakfast, they both walked out of the room together, after equipping their battle gear.

A few days ago, Kirito made sure to get his new weapon maxed out. **The Blood Venom Broadsword** originally had 22 attack, and 3 speed. However, after Kirito upgraded it, it now had +8 attack and +2 speed, totaling the weapon to 30 attack and 5 speed. Needless to say, it was a decent weapon. After Kirito got his new sword, Kirito knew he had to get Asuna a better weapon. Kirito still remembered a Last Attacking Bonus drop from the Field-Boss on the 4th floor.

Kirito took it upon himself to make sure he would get it for her, seeing as how Agil was the one who got her new Rapier for her last time.

20 minutes passed before they were in Tensby, where they would be meeting the other players for the Boss meeting. Upon arrival, they both noticed only a few other players had arrived in the square. Sighing in relief that he was one of the first players there, he approached the center of the square and recalled all of his facts he had for the meeting. Since Kirito remembered this Boss all too well, he didn't want anyone scouting it, just because of how dangerous it was. Kirito knew the path to get to it, so he didn't need anyone to risk their lives just to get information about the Boss that Kirito already knew about.

More players started to filter in, all greeting Kirito and Asuna, and asking where was she the last raid. She all told them she wasn't feeling very well, so she stayed in bed. They all nodded and went with it. After another 10 minutes, everyone had finally arrived, and were all talking a seat. The only players who were not sitting were Kirito, Asuna, and Agil.

"Good morning," Kirito greeted everyone like Agil always had. "I hope you all slept well, because today will be a difficult fight. I do not know exactly how the battle will go, but I do know the strategy that will get us through." Kirito began telling everyone the strategy he had been planning for the last week. "After some pondering about how to approach it, I came up the only way to go about it. If we were to put shield users up in front, they would be wiped out. This Boss pacts a mean punch, and if you are hit directly, you are sure to be gone." Kirito saw panic grow in people's eyes. He couldn't blame them. He knew this would be a difficult battle, and one that they would have to play smart to win.

"Don't worry, its main weakness is its weight. This Bosses weight is so heavy, that it takes forever to move," Kirito began. "Having said that, there is a small crystal in the center of its back, which serves as its weakness. We will stage a small group of players there, while another group of players, led by me, will keep its attention on us.

"The Boss aside, there will be other **Golems** in the room. **Droggel** will have 4 **Iron Golems** serving as his guardians. Group A will be led by me, and Group B will be led by Agil. The remaining groups will make sure the **Iron Golems** do not attack Groups A and B. They are the same as **Droggel** , except they do not have a weak spot." Kirito let everything he had said sink in. "Any questions?"

"How big is **Droggel**?"

"If I remember correctly, he is 3 meters tall. The gem is about this big," Kirito said as he made a big circle with his hands. "So it's not that small of an area of weakness. Any other questions?"

No one said anything, they only looked at Kirito.

"Alright, we will leave at 10:00, so you have 20 minutes to make sure your equipment is repaired and your items are in check," Kirito said as he dismissed them.

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 3: Valkedor**

 **Location: Tensby Plaza**

 **Time: 10:00**

After 20 minutes had passed, all the players had returned to the small plaza that they had all previously left. Kirito greeted some players, before he announced to them that they were about to leave.

"You ready, Asuna?" Kirito asked, as he looked into her chestnut eyes. Blinking once, she gave Kirito a slight nod telling him she was ready for anything. "Good, I am going to rely on you the most, is that okay?"

"Of course, Kirito-kun." Asuna reassured him as she looked at the HP gauges in the corner of her screen. Asuna was parties with Kirito, Alicia, and Alicia's group members. Basically the party that they had had during the last Boss Raid a week and a half back. Asuna shivered when she recalled that battle. After talking about this Boss Raid with Kirito a bit, she got the feeling he was very worried for what was going to happen.

"Alright everyone, let's go!" Kirito said as he tried to lift their spirits. And with that, they set off in the direction of the tower.

Asuna walked beside Kirito the entire time. He told Asuna that the Boss room would have a few inches of murky water in it, which made Asuna not want to go, but when she thought about making Kirito go alone, it worried her. So sucking it up, she decided she would deal with it, rather than complain about it. That fell apart within minutes of being in murk once more. Though she kept her cool, not wanting to embarrass herself in front of all these players.

After they got to the tower, Kirito led them deep into the tower. They met a few **Iron Golems** along the way, but Kirito demonstrated how to handle them, showing everyone how to get behind it with ease.

The tower's floor was covered in murky water, and the walls were a dark grey that had vines climbing down the sides. Players already started to worry about the Boss, seeing how long it took for Kirito to solo one.

More time passed as Kirito followed by everyone else made their way through the tower. After a while, the approached a large ramp that lead to two huge doors. Asuna had a suspicion about what might be behind the doors, however Kirito confirmed it by simply stating,

"The Boss room is beyond those doors. If any of you wish to back out, now would be the time," Kirito asked politely.

No one said a word, they all looked at Kirito and practically urged him to continue. "Alright, there is no backing out now." Kirito said as he approached the big doors. Kirito put one hand on the left door, and Asuna put her hand on the right one. Without hesitating, Kirito and Asuna both pushed the doors open, and they walked into the room cautiously.

The room was large. It was about 100 meters deep and 20 meters wide. The ground was covered in murk, and in the center of the room there was one large boulder. Two boulders were to its left, while there were two more on its right. The group started to pan out and form a slight arc, but they all kept their distance. Suddenly the ground started to shake.

"HOLD ON!" Kirito held to everyone.

Suddenly, the boulders all erupted into 5 **Golems**. The one in the center grew to 3 meters tall, with the name of **Droggel The Golem Lord**. While the other four had the name of **Iron Golem**. **Droggel** had 4 HP bars, while the other ones only had one health bar.

"Everyone, into positions! Group B, hold back for a few minutes until there is an opening to engage its back!" Kirito ordered.

The Groups all went into position, while Kirito and Asuna led their group to confront **Droggel**. As they started to approach it, its dark black eyes glistened as it noticed its new prey. Swinging its **Iron Fist** in an arc over its head, Kirito ordered, "JUMP BACK!"

Without hesitating, they all followed his order and jumped backwards, and watched as **Droggel** made contact with the floor, sending a small shock wave in their direction. Kirito knew he jumped back far enough to not be effected by the blast, but he needed to make sure no one else was effected by it. "Everyone alright?"

"Yeah we are good, what happens when you get hit with that?" Asuna asked as she kept her eyes on **Droggel**.

"You get blasted backwards. You won't get hurt by it, it just sends you flying in any direction. Its unpredictable when he aims for the floor, but he mainly does it when he is aiming for a person but misses," Kirito explained as he got back to his feet. He looked back at Agil and told him, "Be ready to approach its back!"

"Okay!" Agil confirmed. Kirito looked around and noticed the other groups were handing the **Iron Golems** like they were suppose too. Kirito looked back at **Droggel** and took off when he noticed it started to go off in the direction of the other players.

"NO!" Kirito screamed as he approached **Droggel**. "Your opponent is me!" Kirito screamed as he activated a Slash and swung at **Droggel** , getting his attention. Asuna and the others followed Kirito and assisted him. **Droggel** swung his fist horizontally, and without needing to tell the others, they all ducked and continued their mini assault.

"NOW!" Kirito yelled at Agil.

Agil ordered his group to follow him and approach its back. **Droggel** noticed the on-coming Raiders, so he swung his fist above his head and began to descend his fist into the ground. Kirito saw this, so he jumped upwards and met its fist, making it change its direction and have it swing and miss the ground. Kirito pulled back and swung his sword across its chest, making it backpedal a little.

Agil and his group managed to get into its blind spot, as they started to attack its weak spot...

* * *

 **Real World**

 **Location: Asuna's Hospital Room**

 **Time: 10:43**

Kouchirou and his parents visited Asuna due to it being a weekend.

When they got there, they noticed Asuna's pulse spike, causing them all to panic. Having all rushed over to her side, Kouchirou was the first to realize what was happening. So he quickly turned on the monitor that was connected to Asuna's Nerve gear, and sighed in relief.

"It's okay, her pulse is raised because she is in a battle," he said, and it seemed to set their minds at ease.

A week ago, after they all had left her room, they had a long talk about Kirito. Kouchirou stuck to his guns when he said he had pure intentions. His father, Shouzou agreed with him, but their mother Kyouko was dead set on thinking he wasn't the one for her. After a few hours of them all yelling at each other, they got her to admit he had no bad intentions of them spending time together. Kyouko watched the screen, fearing for her daughter's life. In time, she slowly started to think less of her as someone to show off, but someone to love.

They continued to stare at the screen with concern.

They watched Asuna approached the Golem time after time, and each time she got knocked back by its shock waves, Kirito was there to pick her back up onto her feet. This time she got knocked backwards, Kirito managed to catch her, just before she landed on the ground. Looking at him, he said something to her that looked like he said, 'Stay here for a second' or something.

"What did he say?" Shouzou asked them.

"He said 'Stay here for a second?'" Kyouko answered. They all watched as he ran ahead. The giant swung its fist down at him, to which he jumped to the side, and then proceeded to scale its arm. Then he swung his sword time after time. Not having a way for it to get him off, the golem swung its fist at itself. But before making contact, Kirito shouted something, then proceeded to jump off just before it made contact with him. With the impact of its own fist, it fell backwards onto the ground.

After struggling to get up, everyone proceeded to attack, making it fall into its 3rd to last health bar.

"Smart," Kyouko muttered out loud.

"That's an understatement," Shouzou praised Kirito.

Before they could do much more, it swung both its fists up into the air, then proceeded to slam them both into the ground to blast away all the players.

* * *

 **Real World**

 **Location: Kazuto's Hospital Room**

 **Time: 10:53**

"No!" Suguha and Midori both said in unison as **Droggel** blasted everyone away from it, making Kirito fly across the room, landing with a _Thud!_ Without missing a beat, Kirito rushed to his party and made sure they were okay, while at the same time accessing the situation around him.

"It looks like there is only one **Iron Golem** on each side. So they can almost completely focus their attention on **Droggel**." Midori noted.

"Yeah, but look at what that did to everyone," Suguha pointed out that most players health bars had turned yellow. Kirito pulled out a Health potion and sipped it before returning back to battle.

"Does that boy ever stop and breathe? Or does he always insist on doing most of the work?" Midori asked rhetorically.

Suguha laughed, knowing he would never leave someone to do all the work themselves. "Yeah I don't really think he is the one to sit back and watch the battle unfold. He is more of a hands on kind of guy," Suguha chided.

"True," her mother said as she looked back at the unconscious boy on the bed...

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 3: Valkedor**

 **Location: Boss Room**

 **Time: 10:55**

After Kirito sipped his potion, he rejoined the battle as he noticed **Droggel** back on his two feet, with Agil's group starting to hold him off. He told his group to take a few seconds and rest, but Asuna denied the request and got to her feet once again and followed Kirito back into the battle.

Bringing his sword to his side, Kirito activating a **Vertical Leap** and pounced to the center of its back and swung and hit **Droggel's** weak spot.

Successfully getting its attention, Kirito quick jumped backwards as he dodged its fist. Kirito switched into Asuna as she landed a **Shooting Star** on its defenseless front. Meanwhile, Agil's group continued to attack its back while Kirito and Asuna distracted it. Switching back into Kirito, he dodged its fist that was swung horizontally, as he readied another **Vorpral Strike**. Jumping upwards, **Droggel** somehow anticipated his attack and swung his fist upwards.

Kirito was forced to go on the defense, as he held his Blade of Azure up in a defensive manner. **Droggel's Iron Fist** met Kirito's **B** **lade of Azure** , and Kirito's blade gave out, shattering in his hands as he was flung backwards.

"KIRITO!" Asuna yelled as she watched Kirito land with a Thud 10 meters away. "ALICIA, HOLD **DROGGEL** OFF!"

"Roger!" she replied as she and her group took point and engaged **Droggel** while Asuna went and checked up on Kirito. She trudged through the murky water, and found Kirito lying face up in the water starring at the ceiling. She looked into his eyes as she saw his HP gauge in the 'Yellow Zone'. "Are you okay?"

"I am," he said in a faint voice. "But this isn't," Kirito help up the broken hilt of his **Blade of Azure**.

"It broke in that last hit," Asuna said as she remembered what happened. Kirito only nodded as he watched it shatter before his eyes, "Sorry for wasting your time helping me get it," Kirito chided. Kirito looked around and saw that other players started to notice he had broken his sword. Some were asking, "What are we going to do?", while others were sorry for him.

"Use it, Kirito-kun." Asuna said to Kirito as he managed to stand on his own. He knew he had no other option, so he drew open his menu, and ran back into battle. Selecting **The Blood Venom Broadsword** , he equipped it and ran to Alicia's side. As he drew his sword, he blocked **Droggel's fist** as it was about to make contact with Alicia. The impact of the block made **Droggel** stumble backwards, making him fall into his last bar of health.

"You won't die on my watch," Kirito said as he looked back at Alicia for a split second, before returning his gaze on **Droggel**. Kirito took off, approaching Droggel again. Alicia stood there as she looked at her health, seeing it was in the 'Red Zone'. _If this keeps up, I won't make it much longer._ She thought to herself. Though it was harsh, she saw the reality that she would never be on par with Kirito and the others.

Asuna sprinted past her as she went to assist Kirito in the final moments of the fight.

* * *

 **Real World**

 **Location: Asuna's Hospital Room**

Watching Kirito fall helplessly to the ground made Kouchirou worried about the guy, since he saw his blade break midair. But after watching him get back to his feet and drew another weapon, one that looked better, reassured him.

By the way Asuna helped Kirito without even thinking about it, and vice versa, reassured everyone in the room not to worry so much about her survival, as long as she as he was there to protect her. However, Kouchirou noticed something different in he hadn't expected her to feel in such a dark time for her.

He brushed it aside as he watched the final moments of the battle unfold.

The three of them sat somewhere near Asuna, but watched the screen with intense focus, needing to make sure she wouldn't die. Shouzou didn't know much about what he was seeing, but he knew enough to know that it was in its final moments, seeing as how the **Golem Lord** was in its final 'Red Zone'. He almost felt bad for it, because every single player attacked it, making it hard to do anything by swing around aimlessly.

 **Droggel** grew noticeably weaker.

With each attack that was landed on it, its rock body slumped further and further down, before it finally collapsed to the floor, shattering.

"Woohoo!" Kouchirou exclaimed, his celebration was followed by his parents doing their own little celebration, before deciding nothing else would be happening, so they decided to leave, after watching the aftermath.

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Post Boss Raid**

After **Droggel** shattered to the floor, Kirito sighed in relief after seeing the message,

'Congratulations!' drape across the room. Kirito, along with everyone else, celebrated their victory, all talking and muttering to one other. Kirito made a point to count every single player around, counting only one less than 47. Huh, we lost one player?

Kirito counted again, and got the same result.

"What is it, Kirito-kun?" Asuna asked seeing the concern on his face, snapping him out of his thought process.

"Huh? Oh, I was just counting how many players we had. I counted one less than 47. Maybe we only had one casualty? Or they are just hiding." Kirito thought out loud. "Well one loss isn't too bad. To be honest, I thought we would of had a rougher time fighting this Boss."

"Yeah there were a few hiccups along the way. But other than that we came out genuinely unscathed," Asuna said with a small smile on her face, which caused Kirito so smile a little. He was glad she had stopped worrying so much and let her nightmares stay nightmares. But he could see they still affected her whenever Kirito would get hurt.

"There we have it folks," Agil spoke out. "I think that was a good battle. Nothing major happened, but I think we all could use a bit of rest," Agil finished as he looked over towards Kirito. "What do you say Cap? You want to go activate the Teleporting Gate? Or you want us to do it?"

"We all can do it," Kirito said as he tried to get to his feet. However, he felt a little fatigued from the last hit. Kirito stumbled, then collapsed to the ground, with his HP gauge starting to deplete...

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

There we have it. Floor 3, DONE!

If you would like to leave my some suggestions of ideas and plots for later chapters, please feel free to drop me a PM. Also, I want to hear your guys' feedback on whether you liked it or not! I would like to thank the lovely **EuclidWriter** for editing this chapter. Again, this chapter would not be as good if he didn't help out. So thank him!

I have a new pole up and running, so PLEASE vote on it. This one is big. So... Vote.

Until next Chapter!


	7. Winter Wonderland!

**Author's Note:**

I would like to apologize for the fact that I have not updated in awhile. My brother broke my computer a few weeks after I last updated, so I was without a laptop for a long time. So do not fear! I have not lost motivation!

Thank you to those who left reviews.

Leaving reviews motivates me to continue writing, because it makes me happy that you guys like how the story is progressing. After completely thinking things over, I probably will not be able to post 1 chapter a week. It takes me a day to create an outline for a chapter, and then I only have roughly 2 hours a night to write. So I am sorry if I cannot produce 1 chapter a week.

I will not be writing a Field-Boss as well as a Main-Boss for each and every chapter. In certain chapters, I will only imply that they fought it, because I will be dedicating these particular chapters on the relationships between characters.

Other than that, I am kind of surprised the results about my poll so far. If you haven't voted, GO VOTE!

 **Disclaimer: I only own this cat that often attacks my feet while I work. He isn't Sword Art Online unfortunately. );**

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 3: Valkedor**

 **Location: Floor Boss Room**

 **Time: Shortly after Boss Raid**

Dropping his sword to the floor, Kirito struggled to regain his footing.

Noticing this, Asuna tried to make her way over to help. However, Kirito's legs finally gave out, making him collapse into the murky water that covered their feet. Asuna was the first one to his aid. "Kirito-kun!" she screamed as she attempted to catch Kirito, but failed. A few players around Kirito all tried to catch him too, yet they were either too far away from him, or they weren't quick enough. With Kirito's fall, the murky water splashed outwards, getting even more people's attention.

"What happened?" someone called out as they all formed a circle around the fallen boy. Asuna pulled his head into her arms as she noticed his eyes were closed shut. Looking at his HP gauge, Asuna noticed it start to slightly start to deplete. The players around them began to mutter questions to each other as they all started to notice the scene.

Asuna's eyes grew wide in panic as Kirito's health bar fell into the 'Yellow Zone'. She knew she couldn't do much, since no one else in the room knew what was happening to him. "Agil, could you help me get him back to my hotel room?" Asuna asked the man, with pleading eyes. Staring back at her, Agil knew he couldn't reject or refuse.

"Of course, Asuna-sama," Agil replied as he bent down to Kirito's side. Stepping back to make room, a few players noticed an object in the water. Bending down, two of the players picked up the sword that Kirito had dropped.

"That's Kirito-kun's," Asuna explained as she relinquished Kirito over to Agil. They both nodded while admiring the shiny glow the sword was giving off.

"We can bring it back to your hotel room for you," one offered as he held the sword in his hand. Feeling like he wanted to be helpful, he resolved that he wanted to repay Kirito for saving his life earlier.

"You-you don't have to," Asuna said while she wiped a tear from her eye.

"Well, I want to help Kirito in any way I can," the other player explained as he looked away from Asuna "Kirito saved us from the boss earlier. It's the least we can do." He focused his gaze to the unconscious boy in Agil's arms. Agil was carrying Kirito bridal style, but Kirito's head was slumped backwards, hanging off the tall man's arms. Looking back at the weeping girl, he couldn't help but feel obliged to do something for her. Looking back up at Agil, he noticed he was trying to say something to the group.

"Guys!" the player yelled, successfully getting everyone's attention.

"Thank you," Agil said, while nodding his head at him. "Those who want to help Kirito, by all means and help him to his hotel room. But as for the others, I recommend some of you go and activate the next floor's gate."

"How do we do it?" someone asked. "Kirito was the one who did it both times so far."

"You go the the-the Teleporting Gate in the fi-first town," Asuna explained as she wiped another tear away from her eye. "There is a button that says 'ACTIVATE'. Then a notification pops up. The rest is self-explanatory."

A few players nodded their heads towards Asuna, while a few other players looked at each other as they conveyed a silent message amongst themselves. "When should we go?' Agil noticed this, and he immediately explained.

"For those who want to go to the next floor, by all means go now. If you want to make sure Kirito returns back to his room safely, then come with us. Either way, everyone else will have to return back to the town on this floor in order to teleport back." Agil finished as he started to walk back through the entrance of the boss room. Asuna immediately took off after them. She walked beside Agil, on the side where Kirito's head drooped.

There were a few seconds of hesitation before players came out of their trance. They either started to go to the next floor, or follow Asuna, Agil, and the unconscious Kirito. Asuna didn't bother to pay attention to the amount of people that decided to follow them. Once Alicia appeared alongside her, she gave her a weak smile before finally looking back at the rest of the players who had decided to join them. Some also gave Asuna a small smile, while other players gave her an apologetic 'Sorry'. Asuna looked back at Kirito's pale face and pushed back the tears that had started to reform.

"What do you think is wrong with him?" Alicia whispered to Asuna as she drew out a healing potion. She put it in Asuna's hands and gestured for her to feed it to Kirito so he could regain his health.

"I don't know," Asuna frustratingly said as she fed him the potion.

Seeing his HP gauge return back to full health made Asuna sigh in relief. She looked forwards, towards the door they had originally came through. A few players walked ahead to open the doors, so that everyone could pass through them more easily.

Asuna gave them a slight thank you, then continued back into the dungeon.

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 2: Mutaun**

 **Location: Teleporting Gate**

 **Time: 12:30**

35 players...

35 players had followed Asuna and Agil as they transported Kirito from the boss room back to the Teleporting Gate in Grimsby. Though the amount of people wasn't necessary, the gesture was thoughtful due to the amount of **Iron Golems** and **Orcs** they had run into on the way back. Asuna lost count of how many Orcs had faced her wrath. Since she still considered herself useless from not being able to help Kirito, she took out all her built up frustration on the monsters that spawned around them.

After stepping out of the gate, Asuna noticed the amount of eyes that were set on them.

Players who were previously talking amongst themselves were now all looking at Agil and the swordsman in his arms. Asuna stared at the floor, slightly embarrassed with the sudden attention they were receiving. Asuna led them all out of the gate, but before continuing, she told the players that Agil, Alicia, and she would be enough to get Kirito into the room.

"Thank you all," Asuna said with a slight bow in a kind gesture. She heard some players reply, "You're welcome," while others asked each other if the other group had already activated the next floor's gate. The two players from earlier had stepped up and handed Kirito's sword back to Asuna. Nodding at them in thanks, Asuna watched the other's trickle out.

After the 35 players finally left, the amount of eyes staring at them suddenly multiplied. She heard some of them ask themselves, "What happened to Kirito?" or, "Who is that in that man's arms?" Asuna brushed their questions off, telling herself that they would deal with it when Kirito finally felt better. On the way here, they had gone through 5 health potions, all in an attempt to make sure that he wouldn't die in Agil's arms.

Asuna continued their track to their hotel room, leading the way. Alicia fell behind both of them to talk to the group of players that had gathered to see the commotion.

"Sorry for distributing you all!" Alicia apologized with her head bowed.

"It's all good. But if you don't mind us asking, what happened to Kirito-kun?" someone spoke out, earning nods from other players. It was apparent to Alicia that Kirito's well being was on all of their minds.

"Well, after the Third Floor Boss raid, Kirito-kun suddenly collapsed. We noticed shortly afterwards that his HP gauge is slowly falling," Alicia explained with a slight frown plastered on her face.

"What do you think caused it?" another player asked.

"We don't know. It's as if he's... bleeding..." Alicia's face lit up in recognition. "Bleeding! Kayaba probably wants this place more... ". She started to think before getting her thoughts disturbed.

"You have an idea, don't you?" the player asked.

"Only an idea..." she muttered while looking back in the direction Agil, Asuna, and Kirito had disappeared to. "Sorry, but I have to go back to Kirito. Thank you all for your concern," Alicia said with a slight bow once more before taking off in her companions' direction. Alicia rounded the corner as she spotted Agil standing in front of the building, alone.

Picking up her pace, she approached Agil with concern on her face. "Where are they?" she asked worriedly.

"Kirito is inside resting on the bed, and Asuna needs some time alone," Agil said, implying for them to stay outside. Alicia at first didn't understand the hidden message, but she slowly got what Agil was trying to say. Asuna needed time alone to vent out her repressed sadness.

"I need to tell her something," Alicia started to say before starting to go inside. A hand shot in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. She looked back up at Agil with a curious face.

"I wouldn't go in yet," Agil warned.

"It's about what is happening to Kirito. She will need to hear it," Alicia retorted before she ducked underneath Agil's arm and proceeded to go into the hotel. After visiting their room before, she remembered where it was. Weaving her way through the halls, she approached their door and gave it a slight knock. A few minutes past before Asuna opened the door.

"Hey Asuna," Alicia said giving her a smile. "I just wanted to tell ya something real quick."

"What is it, Alicia-san?" Asuna said, clearly not enthused.

"I know what is happening to Kirito-kun," Alicia said, seeing Asuna's face light up as she looked into her eyes.

"What?" Asuna begged. "What is going on with Kirito-kun?" Asuna's eyes bore into Alicia's, making her feel guilty for stalling earlier. Alicia walked inside the room, and Asuna closed the door behind her and followed her in. Sitting down, Alicia looked at Asuna and started to explain her thoughts.

"Since he is not in any danger, there should be no way for him to get hurt, correct?" Alicia stated, earning a small nod from Asuna. "My thoughts are, Kayaba is trying to make this game closer to reality. So, I think he is mimicking the effect of bleeding." Alicia said, while looking into Asuna's confused eyes.

"Bleeding?" Asuna repeated.

"Yeah, remember when he took that large hit? The one that broke his old sword? I think that is when it took effect. But since he was rushing with adrenaline, he brushed past it and didn't let it faze him. So Kirito-kun being Kirito-kun, he toughed it out and finished the Boss." Alicia explained in full.

"Makes sense..." Asuna said as she leaned back in her chair. "Why would Kayaba do this?"

"Who knows what his thoughts are these days?" Alicia asked rhetorically. "How is he doing?"

"Better. It seems to have slowed a bit," Asuna started to say. "Would you mind?"

"Oh of course," Alicia said as she made way for the door to exit the room. Without hesitation, she opened the door and swiftly exited. She knew how much Asuna cared for him, so she knew when to back off and leave her alone.

Alicia made way out of the hotel and walked out, spotting Agil in the same place where he was when she first had seen him. She looked up at him and sighed. Agil looked over and asked, "So, what do you think was wrong with him?

Alicia explained what she had told Asuna. Agil looked upwards when she finished explaining, and proceeded to think.

"Well, what do you think?" Alicia asked.

"I think it is a plausible idea. And one that Kayaba would be willing to use. But you said that Asuna said his health had started to deplete less, correct?" Alicia only nodded, confirming what had already been said.

"Are they..." Alicia started, not knowing how to finish her thought.

"Together?" Agil finished for her, earning a nod from Alicia. "Heh, as much as you'd think, no. The reason why they are so close currently is because Kirito was there for her at the beginning when no one else was. He was a kind of emotional support. If anything, they are only best friends right now. Nothing more."

Alicia nodded her head, while looking away from Agil and focusing her attention on the sky. Ever since they had first met, Kirito seemed like he was a lot older and mature than he led on, but Alicia thought he was 16 years old. ' _I mean, most of us are probably in our teens._..' she thought to herself. Being a 16 year old girl herself, she had only met a small portion of the players in the game so far, so it was hard to accurately guess.

"When do you think we can go in?" Alicia asked.

"Whenever Asuna sends me a message. She said she would when she was ready. She wanted us to help make sure he doesn't, well, you know." Agil implied. Alicia looked away, curious about one thing between Agil and Kirito.

"Say Agil, what do you owe Kirito?"

"My life," was all Agil said as he walked over to the nearby fountain and sat down on the bench. "Don't we all, one way or another?" Alicia nodded while she sat down next to Agil, thinking about the amount of times Kirito had saved her.

"Yeah, he has saved me more than once," Alicia said leaning back onto the bench.

Agil grunted, "He has saved me more than 5 times. Every time we fight a Boss, he finds a way to save me each time. It's almost like he doesn't care about his own life at times." Agil explained. "He is one stubborn ass kid. Nothing will stop him from risking his life..."

"I would hate to be Asuna," Alicia said.

"Why?" Agil asked in confusion.

"Well, she really cares for Kirito, who is a reckless idiot that does anything he can to save anyone, and at the cost of his own life. And this is the second time he has nearly died because of it." Alicia started. "And each time, she is devastated and useless when after it happens."

"I disagree." Agil clearly stated, while still looking at the sky. "I am honestly jealous of her. Both times Kirito has ended up like this, was saving her. Sure, she is upset because of how he ended up, but at the same time she knows it was her fault for him ending up like that." Agil finished as he closed his eyes. His mind wandered to his wife, and how seeing Kirito and Asuna together reminded him of how Agil and his acted towards each other in the beginning.

"Oh, I had no idea," Alicia said ashamed of herself.

"Kirito is not your average guy. Sure, he can be cold towards others, but he will risk his life for almost anyone." Agil admired, still keeping his eyes on the darkening sky...

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 2: Mutaun**

 **Location: Asuna and Kirito's Hotel Room**

 **Time skip: 10 minutes; 14:08**

Asuna sat in the chair that was once in the corner of the room, but now was beside Kirito's bed, like it had been once before.

Asuna's head had been plunged into the bed itself, face down. She was tired of being helpless, and not able to do anything but be saved by Kirito. Especially when it ended up with him being knocked unconscious. Asuna kept her hand firmly in Kirito's, just in case if she nodded off, she would be able to wake up when he did and not have him walk out of the room without waking her up.

She looked back at his health, and saw it slip into the deep 'Yellow Zone'. Asuna brought out another health potion and slipped it into his mouth, making his health jump back into the 'Green Zone'. Asuna sighed, while she watched the potion shatter in her hands.

When she was first alone with the sleeping Kirito, she had her chance to cry out her feelings. What made her the most upset, was she knew Kirito would re-sacrifice himself for her any chance he got.

Asuna vowed to herself to get stronger so he wouldn't have to keep on risking his life for her.

She put her head back down on the bed and let out another sigh, after re-grabbing his hand. Feeling the warmth of his hand made her feel a little better. ' _How much more of this_?' She thought inwardly. ' _Idiot_!'

She felt Kirito tense in her hands, awakening her from her thoughts.

"Ermurphh," Kirito grunted, while forcing his eyes open.

Asuna's head shot up and she looked at him, with a tear in her eye. Kirito's eyes wandered all over the ceiling, as if he was wondering where he was, and what exactly had happened to him. He looked around, until he found a teary-eyed Asuna in front of him. 'Aw shit'. He thought, knowing he had done something stupid.

"Argh, what stupid thing did I do this time?" Kirito said as he leaned forwards, having the blankets fall off his chest.

Asuna chuckled as she wiped her eyes dry. "Nothing, surprisingly," Asuna said as she looked back into his eyes. "It's Kayaba's fault this time, but we can explain it when you're feeling a little better."

"Alright," Kirito said as he scanned the room, spotting his sword against the wall in the corner. "But I am guessing that I broke my **Blade of Azure**..." Kirito said feeling a little sad.

Asuna giggled, "Yeah, you did. You broke it after you switched in, saving me from a hit. Then, you attacked, but **Droggel** anticipated your attack, and he broke it... Then that happened," Asuna finished while pointing to his HP Gauge.

Kirito's eyes opened in shock.

"What happened?" Kirito asked, seeing his HP very slowly start to deplete.

Asuna decided not to wait, but to just tell him what was wrong with him. "Kayaba added a certain effect that makes it seem like a player is bleeding, making large hits do additional damage over a longer period of time. So when you took that last hit from **Droggel** , the hit was so great, it triggered that effect," Asuna finished saying.

Kirito sat back while closing his eyes. "Understandable. Give it to Kayaba to make this more like a 'Death Game'... Assuming that is what is happening, he will surely send out a message to all players, stating his change in rules. He probably didn't account for someone to get damaged that quickly. Got to hand it to him, he does tend to have this game fair..."

"Still, I would rather we just leave this game," Asuna noted.

"Wouldn't we all?" Kirito said as he started to get up.

"Oh no, no, no!" Asuna yelled as she pushed him back down. "You are not leaving that bed until your health no longer lowers! You've had your chance to help me, now it is my turn to make sure you don't go out there and hurt yourself any further!" Asuna asserted.

Kirito was thrown back at this. He obeyed her words as lied back down. He knew he had been worrying her a bit too much, so he knew to throw in the towel this one time.

"I'm sorry Asuna," Kirito said with pure regret in his eyes. "I know I have been worrying you, and I am sorry," Kirito said again, noticing Asuna look down with tears starting to form in her eyes. He looked back at the ceiling and continued, "You once said you wouldn't know what you would do without me, and that goes the same for me too. Not only are you my first REAL friend, but you are my first BEST friend. So I would be completely crushed if I saw you get hurt, while knowing that I could have stopped it.

"So if it means I know you are safe and out of harm's way, then I would gladly wake up 100 more times like this," Kirito finished as he looked into Asuna's eyes.

"Kirito-kun," Asuna said as she looked up at him. He shook his head once, and looked back at the ceiling...

* * *

 **Real World**

 **Time: 12:34**

 **Location: Kirigaya Residence**

Shortly after the Boss battle had ended, Suguha and Midori were preparing to leave the hospital, then suddenly Suguha gasped in shock.

"What is it dear?" Midori said as she looked over at her daughter who had a hand covering her mouth in shock. She followed her eye's path that led towards the monitor screen. Upon looking at the screen, Midori caught a glimpse of Kirito falling into the water, making the screen go dark. Midori fumble for too remote as she switched it to Third-Person view, seeing the other payers react.

"Look at his HP Gauge," Suguha said, pointing to the corner of his screen.

Midori squinted to look at the top part of the monitor.

Midori gasped sharply, seeing his HP slowly start to fall into the 'Yellow Zone'. Looking at Suguha, she confirmed that she wasn't just seeing things, due to Suguha's shocked expression that was also plastered on her face. "What's wrong with him?"

Sugu kept her eyes trained on the screen, watching the tall dark man scoop up Kirito, before everyone proceeded to walk to the big doors. "I don't know..." Removing her eyes from the screen, she looked at Kazuto, who was in the bed. "Maybe another rule?"

"Like what?"

"Like how if someone gets stabbed or hurt badly, we bleed right?" Sugu asked as she re-looked at the monitor. "Well maybe the creator is making this all seem more lifelike. More risks," Sugu said as she realized the horror in it. One major hit, would continuously deplete someone's HP, making them helpless, or severely injured.

"Makes sense, but with the way they are all around Kazu, he will be fine. Plus, you have school tomorrow. Plus you have that date with that boy!" Midori teased.

"Nagata is not my boyfriend," Suguha said in disgust. "He is merely a friend who invited me to go into the city. Hell, he promised me free food." Suguha got off her chair, regretting her decision of leaving the room. She followed her mother out of the room as they left Kazuto's room.

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 2: Mutaun**

 **Location: Hotel Room**

 **Time: 4:32**

Whenever something ever happened to Kirito, Asuna's nightmares would increase in intensity. Normally, her nightmares would consist of Kirito dying before her eyes, but this time it was worse.

The nightmare started off with Kirito fighting a mob of monsters alone, without anyone to help him. As the battle progressed, Kirito was dying.

KIRITO!

She would try to scream, but her words were muffled. Nothing was able to reach him. She watched as a sword was plunged into his chest. Falling to his knees, the scene shifted so that Asuna was the one holding the blade. She tried to remove it from his chest, but it was stuck.

Tears fell to the floor as she tried to remove the blade from his chest, but nothing.

'It's no-not yo-your fa-ult,' Kirito would say as he collapsed to the cold floor. Asuna collapsed to her knees before his body, trying to hold it before he shattered into the air...

"Ahh!" Asuna shrieked as she woke up. The room was dark, giving the time. Asuna put her hands to her head, feeling the amount of sweat that built up throughout her nightmare. Asuna looked up as she stared at the wall in front of her.

The tears in her eyes stung as she looked over at the sleeping Kirito. Before he went to sleep, they made sure he would be in no harm, giving his condition, but Asuna wanted to make sure. After staying up another ten minutes, she concluded his health was no longer depleting, so she proceeded to go to bed.

"Good," she muttered quietly as she got up. "I didn't wake him up..." she walked across the bedroom, and looked over at his sleeping figure. _Normally, you look bold, but when you sleep you look almost childish_. She thought as she sat down at the foot of his bed.

"Thank goodness it was only a dream," she said as she placed a hand over her eyes, wishing the nightmares to stop. Sleep started to consume her, as she was thinking about her nightmare, as it made her tired, so she slowly drifted off to sleep.

3 hours later...

Kirito eyes gently opened for the first time in days.

Ever since he had saved Asuna from that **Ox** , sleep evaded Kirito as he continuously thought of different ways for her to get herself injured. Leaning forward, he rubbed his eyes to wipe the sleep out of them, and found a sleeping Asuna at his feet.

Kirito chuckled slightly as he leaned forwards more so he was in reach of her shoulder.

"Hey, Asuna..." Kirito said as he poked her shoulder.

'Hmmph," Asuna rolled over at the base of his bed. "Five more minu..." she started before starting to snore.

"Asuna!" Kirito exerted as he shook her shoulder, waking her up from her slumber. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the light as she looked up at Kirito. "Good Morning, Asuna," Kirito said with a faked grin. "Sleep well?"

Asuna's eyes slowly opened in realization, making the connection of where she was.

"Eh? EHHH?" Asuna squealed, as she sat up straight, throwing her arms in a defensive manner. "It-ITS no-NOT WHAT YOU THINK!" Asuna tried to defend herself. "It's- It's just-"

"I'd LOVE to see you talk your way out of this one," Kirito said with a sly grin. Asuna's face immediately burnt red in embarrassment.

"I-I! I am sorry!" She said as she started to get up. Getting off the bed, she went into the living room, still burning up in embarrassment. Noticing her discomfort, he decided to let her cool down a little. A few minutes went by before Asuna came back into the room, slightly teary-eyed.

"I know Asuna," Kirito muttered as he leaned forward and pulled her into a hug. "I heard you wake up screaming." Kirito comforted as he felt tears on his neck. "Nightmares again?" Asuna only nodded her head into the crook of his neck as she sobbed. "What happened this time?"

"W-What- Ha-app-appened," Asuna tried to explain, but was quieted down by Kirito.

"You can tell me later..." Kirito trailed off as he patted her head. Neither one of them could tell how much time went by, but after a while Asuna gained back her bearings and withdrew from the hug, telling Kirito that she had calmed down enough.

"Better?" Kirito said as he wiped away a stray tear that made its way down her pale face.

"Ye-yeah..." Asuna stumbled as she got off of the bed, and made her way out of the room, leaving Kirito to his thoughts.

 _Wow_... Kirito thought to himself. _Never expected her to still be affected_... Kirito swung his feet off the bed and placed them both on the floor. He stood up and walked to the edge of his bed and sat down as he placed his elbows on his knees. Placing his face into his hands he let out a long sigh, he knew Asuna would still be affected by those unpleasant thoughts and nightmares.

!

Kirito eyes snapped open. He overlooked his last few days, and came realized that since everyone would be too worried about him, he knew they wouldn't let him be part of the Field-Boss raid. He drew open his menu and scrolled through his 4 friends, stopping on Alicia's name, he tapped the message button and proposed a message saying,

 _Yo._

 _I just realized everyone won't let me be a part of the_

 _Field-Boss raid because of the last boss fight, so I_

 _wanted to ask if you wanted to scout it with me._

 _Thanks,_

 _~Kirito_

Pressing the send button, he placed his head back into his hands, and let his thoughts consume him...

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Location: Unknown**

 **Time: Dawn**

Sunlight started to creep on the dark shadows. The once dark alley slowly started to be consumed by the virtual light. A small group of players approached an older man, whom had his back turned away.

"Yo... Boss?" one of the players said as he stepped away from the group, and approached the supposed 'Boss'.

"What did you find out?" the 'Boss' asked as he peaked over his shoulder.

"We-well ever since the announcement of guilds, we have recruited over a few dozen players," the boy said to his superior.

"Did you recruit anyone in particular?" The 'Boss' retorted.

"We did recruit a player skilled with a Katana-" the boy started before getting cut off abruptly.

"Let me rephrase that... What have you found out about her!" the 'Boss' restated as he turned his body towards the boy. The 'Boss' was wearing all black, as if he desired to stay hidden, and be one with the shadows.

"We, found nothing. You told us to be aware of-" he was cut off abruptly.

"I know about the Boy!" The 'Boss' shouted. "I know he is a threat! That Beater is our target! We need to get to HER to get to HIM!" he shouted. Soon after, he noticed the fear that had been instilled in the player. The boy tensed up as the 'Boss' turned around to face him. Looking down, he noticed the fear that was plastered all over his face. By the time he noticed this, it was already too late.

Footsteps echoed throughout the entire alleyway as another man approached the small group. Looking over his shoulder, the 'Boss' sighed and turned around, facing the oncoming man.

"Now, now Kibaou..." the player said as he removed his hat, and placed it at his side as he continued to address Kibaou. "That is no way to treat our newest guild members! Remember, we ought to welcome them with open arms!"

"Hrm!" Kibaou grunted as he heard gleeful sighs come from the group.

"Now, what is your reasoning to ask this ONE girl to join? Is she anything special?" the man exclaimed. "I mean, you did say she was with the Beater... So, by default, she ought to be on the newest floor, which means we cannot reach her till they clear Floor 5..."

"I know!" Kibaou shouted. "My scouts tell me that they have a hotel room on the second floor, so we could approach her there!"

The man sighed, realizing that he would never be able to change Kibaou's mind. "Alright, just don't get yourself killed. Bring 5 players, you know, just in case things get out of hand..."

Kibaou smiled at this idea, while he grimaced inwardly, ' _Like hell I am going to be able to show my face to her! Not after the time in the First Floor Boss Room._ '

"Alright boys." Kibaou smiled to himself. "Let's get Asuna!"

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 2: Mutaun**

 **Location: Town Square**

 **Time: 12:56**

Hours passed since Kirito got a reply from Alicia, saying she would have loved to join him in scouting the field boss. She also said to meet her at the Town's Square at 1:00. Kirito checked the time, and looked over at Asuna, and gave her a half-hearted smile.

"What?" Asuna asked, wondering his reasoning behind the gesture.

"No reason. But I am supposed to meet Alicia here soon. She wanted to talk to be about something," Kirito lied. Asuna's face went pale suddenly at the mention of Alicia. Kirito noticed this, but shrugged it off, assuming to himself she remembered a dream or something of the sort.

"Hey, Kirito-kun..." Asuna trailed off, regaining his attention. "I think we ought to publicly announce that we don't want to join any guilds. You know, since we have been getting a lot of invitations since the announcement a few days ago..." Asuna trailed off once again as she put her hands behind her back in a nervous gesture. "... We could say we won't join one unless we are both invited..."

"...Together?" Kirito finished for her, earning a small nod. "Okay, you can announce it to some of the players when I go talk to Alicia," Kirito finished with a small smile.

Asuna smiled back as Alicia started to appear behind Kirito. Noticing Alicia, Asuna's smile faded, signaling to Kirito she would leave them alone.

"Okay, see you later Asuna," Kirito said shortly before a small tap poked at his back. Kirito turned around and shined Alicia a quick smile, before returning his gaze back on the fleeing Asuna.

"Was that Asuna-san?" Alicia asked as she too noticed Asuna's fleeing figure.

"Yup," was all Kirito said, before locking his gaze on Alicia. "So, are you ready to head out?"

"Eh? Eager to get back into the field, aren't ya?" Alicia quipped.

"Maybe a bit. It's been a few days since I have been out of commission. Have you guys located the Floor-Boss?" Kirito asked as he led her towards the Floor's teleporter. Kirito noticed some of the players who had tried to get him to join their guilds earlier. At first, he had felt guilty for declining their offers. However, he knew it was either both him and Asuna, or none of them at all.

"We found him perched on a small hill clo- wait, you haven't been to the new floor have you?" Alicia asked Kirito, who gave her a quick 'no'. "Well, then!" She said as she grabbed his hand. "We have to buy you some new clothes!"

"Wa-Wahh?!" Kirito mustered.

After a few seconds of struggling, he soon gave into her pull. It was then that he realized her hair was now flying freely. Before, she always have her hair tied back into a messy ponytail. Today, however, her black and wavy hair was enough to take any man's breath away. Kirito fiercely blushed, and looked to the floor. Alicia led Kirito as they weaved their way through the crowd of players that had gathered in front of the shops.

Alicia's hand tightened around Kirito's as she pulled him through the crowd entirely, making him stumble

"You okay there?" Alicia asked in a mocking manner as she helped him straighten up. Letting go of her hand, Kirito placed it behind his neck and only laughed it off.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kirito said in embarrassment. "So, why do I need to go shopping for clothing?" Kirito asked as he looked in front of him and saw a vendor with a large clothing rack to his left.

"You tell me. You were in the beta, were you not?" Alicia chided.

Kirito thought back to his time in the beta, and his thoughts lit up when he remembered his time on the 4th floor.

"Winter Wonderland?" Kirito joked. During the beta, Kirito and the other players called it the 'Winter Wonderland', due to its snow theme. He remembered how it consistently snowed, and never got any warmer than 20 degrees.

"Right!" Alicia said as she turned to face the vendor. Kirito realized a change in her voice. When they had first met, Alicia was a closed book. She went with the flow and partied with Kirito and Asuna because she had no other choice. But now, she was much more vibrant. Then again, so is Asuna... Kirito smiled as he remembered just how passive-aggressive Asuna had been.

After a bit of shopping, Kirito eventually bought a black winter jacket, and secretly selected a red and white jacket for Asuna.

"Okay Kirito-kun! Let's go!" Alicia exclaimed as she led the way back to the gate.

Kirito followed without a second of hesitation, which concerned him. Inwardly, Kirito thought, ' _When did I become so trusting?_ ' After slightly worrying, he concluded that the situation wasn't anything to be worried about, so he let it past him...

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 4: Icelandis**

 **Location: Icospice**

 **Time: 1:35**

Just before the two of them left the second floor, Kirito made sure to put his coat on over his armor. A moment later, he decided was the best decision he had made in a long time, due to the fact that as soon as they entered Icelandis, he was met with a very cold wind chill.

"You weren't kidding when you said it was cold." Kirito said out loud.

"Yeah, imagine being the first few players to come to the floor. "I'm sure they woke right up after that battle," Alicia joked. Kirito smiled to himself, trying to keep his mind on the topic at hand.

"So what do you guys know about this Field-Boss?"

"About as much as the info broker. Its name is supposedly **The Alpha Alpaca**. It fits the setting, since the minions on this floor are-"

" **Alpaca**." Kirito finished for Alicia. "Yeah, I'm starting to remember this floor more vividly..."

"What happened here?" Alicia worriedly asked as she started to lead them away from the Teleporting gate. Early today, she got the updated map of the floor from the scouting group that had been established. She quickly checked it, before hastily making way to where the Field-Boss was supposed to be.

"Nothing particularly. Just the fact that this floor was known to be avoided. No one really ever went back to it after it had been cleared," Kirito said as he caught up to her. Soon after that, Kirito's mind started to drift off. His thoughts were consumed about Suguha, and his aunt. No matter how hard he tried, he felt the one thing he tried to suppress ; guilt. He knew he had hurt them both just by being gone, but the shame he felt was much deeper. He distanced himself a bit too far from them, so for that he felt the burning desire to apologize.

Five minutes passed in silence as Alicia led them out of town, and into a small open path.

Trees were draped above them, making it so they couldn't see the virtual sun. As timed passed, the quietness slowly started to get to Alicia, who wanted to badly to break the silence.

"So, Kirito-kun," she started as she slowed down so they could walk side-by-side.

"Hm?" Kirito muttered as he came out of his thoughts.

"I know it might be rude to say this, but what was your family like?" Alicia kept her head faced forwards so he couldn't see the discomfort that was present in her face. Kirito was a bit thrown back at this. Taking him a few seconds to understand the question, he muttered back,

"My family?" he repeated, earning a slight nod from Alicia. "My family..." he said as if the term was new to him. Sure, he had people close to him, but the term 'family' always hit him hard. "My 'family' is a bit complicated, you see."

"In what way?" Alicia asked, fearing she might have had stepped over a line.

"I'd prefer not to say..." Kirito's voice cracked when he thought about it. He let the view in front of him consume him. It looked like the path they were headed down never ended, but according to Alicia's map, they had a few more miles until they would make it to an open area.

"Would it make you feel better if I explained my complicated family?" Alicia pondered.

"Only if you don't mind, I don't want to make you feel pressured to tell me something you don't want to..."

"It's alright," she started as she looked down at their feet. "There is me, my sister and brother, then my Mom and Dad. My Dad is great, always one to quip a joke, while my mother is more serious, seeing as how she is ex-military. She was recently released from the hospital, which is great."

"What happened?" Kirito asked, fearing the answer.

"An IED explosion," Alicia said as she tensed up thinking about it. "She lost an arm and part of her leg."

Kirito looked at her as he realized tears started falling into the snow. He stopped her and tried his best to comfort her. Kirito pulled her into a small hug and tried to soothe her. He heard her start to say something, but her words were muffled by her sobs. Though he didn't hear it, he knew Alica was even more upset that her mother lost an arm, leg AND a daughter, all in within a short time from each other.

"Alicia-" Kirito started to say but was quickly interrupted by her sobs. "Alicia," he tried again. "I promise to you that I will make sure you escape this world. I will make sure you escape this Hell and make it back to the real world. I promise..." Kirito confirmed to himself.

Alicia's mind went blank. Not only was she surprised at his sudden confession, she was a bit relieved that he had. She normally wasn't the damsel in distress type, but she was glad to have someone, other than herself, to look after her. At the same time, however, she sadly smiled to herself.

"My family-" Kirito started to say after Alicia stopped her crying. "My family, consists of me, my cousin and my aunt."

"Wh-what a-about you-r parents," Alicia asked as she wiped away a tear on her cheek.

"When I was 5 years old, my parents got into a car accident and died," Kirito stopped as he heard Alicia's breathing hitch. "I supposedly was in the car when they died, but I never remembered it."

"What do you mean?"

"I grew up thinking my aunt was my mother, until I hacked a news site and found the news report about their deaths..." Kirito said as he trailed off.

"I am so sorry," Alicia said, but saw Kirito's head go back and forth.

"It's fine," Alicia looked into Kirito's eyes, and saw something different in them. Curious at this, she asked,

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know... Something just... feels wrong?" Kirito worried, completely confused. Alicia just shrugged it off and put a smile on her face, hoping for the best...

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 2: Grimsby**

 **Location: Outside the Town Square**

 **Time: Shortly after Kirito and Alicia left**

Asuna was at a loss of words.

Not only was she surprised at how she handled being near Alicia, but the fact that Kirito hadn't even asked her to join them in their scout. Deep down, Asuna knew Kirito thought it would be best if she just relaxed until she was more suitable for battle. Which both irritated her, and made her feel thankful to Kirito.

Sighing to herself, Asuna turned around and started to head deeper into town, after she saw Kirito leading Alicia to the gate.

Players flooded the streets, scouring for shops to buy items for use, or even weapons, but however you looked at it, they were starting to get more players as each and every day passed. Asuna noted to herself that Kirito and Asuna ought to get a new hotel room on a higher floor, so not as many players would be out and about. Asuna slowly weaved her way through the crowds, until she finally was able to get to the other side in one piece, Heading for the hotel room, so she could lay down for a bit, she took off into that direction.

The buildings slowly passed by, as Asuna made her way deeper into the town. As she got to the hotel's door, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a little boy run towards her. Asuna turned her body so she was facing the upcoming boy.

"HELP ME MISS!" the boy pleaded as he stopped in front of her, panting.

"What's wrong?" Asuna asked as she bent down so she could look into his eyes.

"My friends are being... attacked... by monsters!" the boy screamed. Asuna's eyes lit up as she knew she must help.

"Led the way," Asuna simply stated. As soon as she said that, the boy took off back out into the fields. Asuna kept up with the boy, but he was starting to tire out. As they broke out of the town, the boy took off into a dead sprint, and bolted across the field. Asuna activated her **Sprint** ability, and caught up with him within seconds.

5 minutes passed, and by then they were in a small opening in the forest. Asuna stopped running, and looked down at the floor to catch her breath. She continued to pant as she lifted her head back up as she started to say, "Where are th-"

Asuna stopped as soon as she realized the boy had disappeared. Confused by this, she looked around and established he was nowhere to be found. A quest? Asuna thought, making a quick note of where they were on the map.

 _Too far into the woods for there to be any quests here._.. Asuna thought. Soon afterwards, an older boy stepped out of the trees and into the clearing, then another one popped out behind her. One by one entered the clearing, until there were a total of 4 boys, and 2 girls who were now in the clearing.

"Uhh... Hello?" Asuna said weakly, fearing the worst. "Do you need anything?"

"Yeah," One of them said. "You..."

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 4: Icelandis**

 **Location: Enclosed Path**

 **Time: 2:12**

Shortly after they both got to their feet, they set off once again.

This time, they were making small talk. They talked about some of their interests, likes, and dislikes as they walked. Kirito slowly started to understand her a lot better, and at the same time he rather enjoyed her company. Although, he was starting to regret the promise he made her.

 _Idiot_! He thought. _I already promised Asuna to keep HER alive... I can't be responsible for three lives rather than one! What if I can't save Alicia_?

Kirito mentally scolded himself for promising her so impulsively.

More time passed while they talked, but when Kirito was in the middle of a sentence, he got a message notification. He looked at Alicia and said, "Give me a second." She nodded her head as he tapped the message button. He quickly checked who it was from, and was surprised to discover Asuna was the sender.

After opening it, his eyes widened in fear, as his hand started to shake.

"What's wrong?" Alicia said.

Kirito's mind snapped out of its trance, as his eyes shot to Alicia. "Something is wrong. Something is wrong with Asuna!" Kirito yelled.

"What's wrong with her?" Alicia asked with concern present in her voice.

"I- I don't know," Kirito said as he shoved his hand into his coat, searching for a teleporting crystal. Kirito's fingers touched it, and he then proceeded to pull it out of his coat pocket. He looked up into Alicia's eyes, and muttered one word. "Sorry."

"Don't be! Just go!" Alicia exclaimed, as Kirito muttered 'Teleport! Grimsby!' Kirito appeared in Grimsby's town square. Looking around, he momentarily noticed there were more crowds of people than usual, but this didn't faze him. Kirito drew open his friends menu, as he continuously read that message in his mind,

'Help me!

Kirito-kun!'

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

And that's all she wrote!

There is a few things I would like to say, and the main one would be that I am sorry for not updating for a while. If you didn't read the AN at the top, go read it. Holds lots of information.

BUT! The BIG thing I would like to say, is: I will be writing a One-Shot next! Don't worry, this story will be my main focus. I will be writing the One-Shot between chapters. The One-Shot I am planning is only going to be like two chapters, so nothing major. So STAY TUNED! It is will MOST CERTAINLY be a story you HAVE NEVER read BEFORE! (Probably)

And with that, I bid you all farewell, till next time my readers!


	8. Announcement!

**Author's Note:**

Hello my loyal readers!

I am back, and I do have a very good reason for not updating this story. You see, my friend-no BEST friend, the one who pushed me to write this story, suffered from major depression. I knew her for 9 years, and she committed suicide back in October.

Her death, hit me like a brick across the face. Seeing as how she wanted me to create this story, I couldn't pick up that pencil to brainstorm chapters. But I realized recently, that she would of wanted me to continue this story, and I shall do so!

But before I update you guys with an official update, I want to launch my new story, The Promised Future.

It is a Percy Jackson story, and it is an idea I have had in my head for a while now. So if you guys are a fan of Percy Jackson, please go and check it out! I will be back to writing this story soon. I will make sure I finish this story! I, SeaKArt, Promise you. And I take promises VERY seriously

Now, I don't want anyone to pity me. I have had awhile to coop with the lose, but it won't stop me!

I hope to see you all soon!

~SeaKArt


	9. The Short Fall

**Author's Note:**

Hello everyone! I am pleased to finally give you an official update!

Now before I give you all the next installment of my story, I would like those who haven't casted a vote, to go visit my poll on my profile, and submit a vote. The poll question is: **Should Kirito make a Guild, Join a Guild, or Neither and stay Solo?** I would appreciate it highly, and the poll will officially end when I post the next chapter.

So without further ado, I present you this long awaited chapter!

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Sword Art Online franchise. I would have made the ALO Arc much better.**

* * *

 _Previously..._

Shortly after they both got to their feet, they set off once again.

This time, they were making small talk. They talked about some of their interests, likes, and dislikes as they walked. Kirito slowly started to understand her a lot better, and at the same time he rather enjoyed her company. Although, he was starting to regret the promise he made her.

 _Idiot_! He thought. _I already promised Asuna to keep HER alive... I can't be responsible for three lives rather than one! What if I can't save Alicia_?

Kirito mentally scolded himself for promising her so impulsively.

More time passed while they talked, but when Kirito was in the middle of a sentence, he got a message notification. He looked at Alicia and said, "Give me a second." She nodded her head as he tapped the message button. He quickly checked who it was from, and was surprised to discover Asuna was the sender.

After opening it, his eyes widened in fear, as his hand started to shake.

"What's wrong?" Alicia said.

Kirito's mind snapped out of its trance, as his eyes shot to Alicia. "Something is wrong.

Something is wrong with Asuna!" Kirito yelled.

"What's wrong with her?" Alicia asked with concern present in her voice.

"I- I don't know," Kirito said as he shoved his hand into his coat, searching for a teleporting crystal. Kirito's fingers touched it, and he then proceeded to pull it out of his coat pocket. He looked up into Alicia's eyes, and muttered one word. "Sorry."

"Don't be! Just go!" Alicia exclaimed, as Kirito muttered 'Teleport! Grimsby!' Kirito appeared in Grimsby's town square. Looking around, he momentarily noticed there were more crowds of people than usual, but this didn't faze him. Kirito drew open his friends menu, as he continuously

read that message in his mind,

'Help me!

Kirito-kun!'

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 2: Grimsby**

 **Location: Town's Square**

 **Time: Immediately after Asuna's message**

A faint light appeared on the portal in the town's square, and out stepped a desperate Kirito. Kirito didn't waste a second as soon as the light died down. He stepped off the platform and bolted into the town, weaving his way through the crowd of people in his way.

Kirito ignored everyone around him as he made his way deeper into the town. He heard people continue to yell his name, but he paid them no attention as he desperately continued.

Nearing the outskirts of the town, Kirito drew his menu open and pressed the friends list tab, displaying his handful of friends. Kirito tagged Asuna's name and tapped trace, which tracked Asuna's position deep in the forest. Kirito winced, seeing that she was in a some sort of cave. Closing his menu, he dashed deeper into the forest, only hoping she would be okay.

Kirito pushed his way through the branches that block his path, but eventually stumbled into an open clearing, where Kirito spotted a small gang of Oxes. Not wasting a second Kirito, drew The Blood Venom Broadsword and attacked. He lunged his blade at one of the Ox's blind spot, and killing it on contact, and then he turned to next one. Within seconds, all seven of the monsters were now shattered. Looking around desperately, he reopened his menu to check on her location again. Sighing in relief, he closed the menu and set off once again in the direction of where Asuna was.

"Please be okay Asuna-san…" He mumbled to no one but himself. Kirito mentally scolded himself for letting something bad happen to Asuna. After promising to Asuna that, no matter what, she would survive this hell and live to see the outside world again, Kirito knew he would be completely and utterly crushed if Asuna died. Just thinking this, Kirito ran even faster.

A small notification popped up saying:

'Your **Dash** skill is now 200/1000!'

Kirito scoffed at that and dismissed it, and continued on his merry way. Ahead of him, Kirito saw a break in the trees, which cause the swordsman to slow to a stop. His eyes narrowed and spotted a small cave in the distance. Kirito hid behind a tree, and carefully watched the entrance of the cave. Kirito opened the tracker and noticed he was in the right place, so he dismissed the menu and continued to observe.

A few minutes passed with no activity. Kirito hefted a small sigh as he edged closer to the cave, but quickly jumped back behind a tree, seeing a small group of players exit the cave. Kirito stayed in the shadows as he carefully made his way behind the cave, staying behind the trees.

"She's the one," one of the players said proudly. The entire group wore the exact same gear, a set of metal armor which was almost knight-like.

"Yeah, no shit she's the one. Now we only have to wait until he gets here," another said quietly. "But how are we going to find the Beater? He's the one we really want."

"He'll come to us once he finds we have his girlfriend," another one said smugly. Kirito's eyes widened in rage. ' _This is a recruitment?!_ ' It took everything in Kirito to not bolt from his hiding spot and wipe the floor with their smug faces. He snuck closer to the side of the cave, and spotted a thin rapier propped against the side of the cave. He picked it up, and quickly threw the strap over his shoulder.

"That kid would be stupid to come here. I mean, it'll be 4 against 1!" the other players in the group laughed along as well. Kirito had enough of this. He broke out of the tree line, and walked to where he stood between the cave and the small group of players.

"Well," Kirito announced. "It looks like this _kid_ , isn't as stupid as you think," Kirito smirked, crossing his hands over his chest "I mean, I found you in what? 20 minutes after you kidnapped her?" he gestured to the cave behind him. The group of players wiped around, swords drawn out in front of them. When they noticed who it was, they all took a step back.

 _Meanwhile..._

Asuna's head pounded, making it hard for her to see straight. She pulled her arms into her body, and propped herself up on her left elbow. Blinking her eyes open, she noticed she was now alone in the cave. Water dripped from the ceiling to the floor, and Asuna's eyes strained as she looked out of the cave.

She felt around her pockets, and noticed they had taken all of her teleport crystals. Asuna sighed, realizing she was now stuck. Looking around more carefully, she noticed how small the cave was. Putting her hand to her hip, she didn't feel the Rapier that was usually strapped to her hip. Sighing again, Asuna pulled herself to her knees as she looked out of the cave. She noticed her four captives talking and laughing like nothing was wrong.

She watched them for a few minutes, before noticing a black figure appear from the left of the cave. After hearing the person's voice, she let out a quiet yelp.

' _Kirito-kun_ '... She thought to herself. Deep down inside, she knew he would come to her rescue, but Asuna wanted nothing to do with the damsel in distress sort of thing. Over his shoulder, Asuna spotted her rapier. She stood up, but crouched immediately, and stalked over to the side of the cave. She picked up a rock and held it in her hands as she neared the entrance.

"Well it looks like this _kid_ , isn't as stupid as you think," Asuna saw Kirito smirk, as he crossed his hands over his chest "I mean, I found you in what? 20 minutes after you kidnapped her?" he gestured to the cave behind him.

"Well, well, well," one of them taunted. "Looks like he came to us!" the player took a step forwards, getting over his surprise. He pointed his sword at Kirito and said, "Now that you are here, let's make a deal."

"What kind of deal?" Kirito scoffed.

"The kind where you get your girlfriend back, and we get something in return…" the soldier trailed off.

"What do you want from me?" Kirito asked, even though he already knew what was to come.

"With the new addition of Guilds, we would like to formally request you to join us! The Aincrad Liberation Force! Or ALF for short," the player smirked. "So we let your girlfriend go, and you join us," he summarized.

"If you knew anything about me, you would know I am a solo player, AND I have rejected all Guild requests," Kirito stated. "While I'm _very_ flattered by your invitation, I'm not exactly sure that I'd be able to fit into such a high level organization, you know? A guild which thinks that the strategy of blackmailing high level players into joining won't backfire at all, must most certainly be filled with the most brilliant minds of Aincrad. In fact, I'm sure that the world would be utterly _ecstatic_ to hear about your brilliant new marketing strategy." Kirito finished with a grin.

The soldier shifted his weight from one foot to another. They were given instructions when they set out for this mission. Either have the beater join, or if he rejects, kill him. The swords that the soldiers once lowered, were risen and were repointed at Kirito.

Kirito glared into each of their eyes, and grabbed the handle of his sword, and drew it. The blade shined in front of them, as he got in a battle ready stance. Before Kirito pounced, he heard a rock ping off of the caves wall.

He broke his gaze from them, and unslung the rapier from his shoulder, and tossed it in the air behind him. He saw a small flash from the corner of his eye, and then Asuna stood at his side, with her rapier, The Retaliator, in her hand. Kirito gave Asuna a quick smile, but before he turned his attention back at the group of players in front of them.

"Now… Do you want to do this the easy way? Or, my personal favorite, the hard way?" Kirito said with a sly smile as he took a step forward. The soldiers took a step back, before all charging at Kirito and Asuna.

Kirito pounced to the right, and parried the oncoming blade that was aimed for his head. He quickly advanced the players' undefended torso, and slashed in a wide arc, causing the soldier to fall back, as he watched his health dip.

After regaining his footing, the soldier equipped a medium sized shield, and swiftly blocked Kirito's jab. Kirito jumped back, dodging a blow to the chest made by a different soldier. Kirito blocked then side stepped another jab, before being pushed back a few steps by the two soldiers. Kirito glanced over at Asuna quickly, seeing her health dip into the yellow zone.

Kirito's eyes shot daggers into the eyes of his two opponents. Without missing a beat, he dashed over to the two unexpecting soldiers, and hit the flat of his Broadsword against his leg, and he toppled over. Reeling his sword backwards, Kirito plunged his broadsword into the man's gut. Which slowly made the soldier 'bleed'. The pinned soldier tried to swing his blade at Kirito, but Kirito grabbed the hilt of the blade, disarmed him then swung the blade and severed his second opponent's wrist off, whom promptly fell to his knees and Kirito held the blade against his neck.

Kirito saw the other two soldiers start to overwhelm Asuna. Kirito pulled the sword back and threw it at the three. Asuna saw the sword coming towards them, and she rolled out of the way and then stood up, looking over at Kirito.

The two soldiers looked over at Kirito with terrified expressions.

"TAKE ANOTHER STEP!" Kirito dared. "And this one will lose a head," he gestured to the soldier on his knees with a new sword to his neck. "And this one's health will continue to deplete!"

The two soldiers nodded and lowered their weapons.

"Now drop them!" Kirito enforced, and the two of them obediently dropped their swords and shields. Kirito withdrew the sword from one's neck, and pulled his blade out of the other's gut.

"Now I think it is clear we won't join your Guild," Kirito walked over to Asuna as he pulled out a health potion and handed it to her. She drank it quickly, and nodded a small 'thanks' to Kirito. "The next time I hear that you all did something like this again, I will not hesitate to expose all of you."

Kirito took a teleport crystal out of his pocket and handed one to Asuna. He sheathed his blade, and they teleported to the 3rd Floor. Kirito stepped out of the portal, and stepped down off the platform, and without saying a word he began his trek back to their hotel.

Asuna fell in step behind Kirito, and stared at his feet as they walked through the streets.

The walk to their hotel was silent, and for Asuna it was awkward. Kirito trudged up the stairs and unlocked their room, and continued inside. He unequipped his equipment and walked to the kitchen.

Asuna stood in the middle of the room awkwardly. After a few seconds of watching Kirito walk around the room, she finally unequipped her equipment and sat down on the couch.

"Thank you," Asuna mumbled softly. Kirito only nodded his head softly. "We-well what hap-"

Asuna fell silent when Kirito raised a hand to stop her from talking. "If it's too hard for you to talk about what happened, you don't have to," Kirito said gently.

Asuna nodded but said, "But I want to," Asuna told him her what happened. From the lost little boy, to waking up in the dark cave, only to be saved by Kirito. He listened patiently, asking a few questions here and there, but mostly kept quiet.

"Did they, you know, hurt you or anything?" Kirito asked with concern ridden in his voice.

"No they didn't. If they did they wouldn't be breathing right now." Kirito only nodded his head, taking a bite out of his sandwich. He placed it down on the coffee table and placed a hand on Asuna's arm assuring her,

"Don't worry Asuna-san. You will never be alone. From now on, you are stuck with me," Kirito sucked in a deep breath, almost regretting what he had just said.

"Promise?" Asuna asked worriedly. Kirito could hear the strain in her voice, and he could tell she was holding back tears. Kirito did the only thing he knew he could do.

"Promise," Kirito confirmed, and suddenly Asuna sprung and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug.

Kirito was shocked.

He didn't know what to do, because it was all so sudden. His mind, being completely blank, just simply froze, not reacting to the sudden warmth on his body. Asuna noticed this and giggled saying,

"This is the part where you hug me back Kirito-kun," Asuna managed to hold in her laughter as he slowly wrapped his arms around her, coming out of his shock.

"Ri-right," Kirito blushed in embarrassment. Kirito mentally slapped himself for making yet another promise to someone, even if it was Asuna. His old promise, the one where he promised she would make it out of this hell, was hard enough to live up to. He gently rubbed her back, giving her the comfort that she needed.

"You alright now, Asuna-san?" Kirito carefully asked.

Asuna nodded softly, and pulled away from Kirito's warmth. "I am gonna go get some rest," Asuna yawned. Kirito nodded his head, and watched as she got up from the couch, and make her way into the bedroom.

Kirito checked the time, and involuntarily yawned, as he looked at the bedroom. He stood up, and slowly made his way to the bedrooms, where he collapsed onto his bed, letting out a heavy sigh.

Asuna lied in the bed, covers pulled over her chest, and she kept her gaze on the ceiling. After a few minutes of staring into oblivion, she heard a soft snore coming out of her companion. She gave him a sheepish smile, before her eyes rolled back into her head as her breathing slowly slowed down until she fell into a blissful slumber...

* * *

 **Real World**

 **Location: Kazuto's Hospital Room**

 **Time: After Asuna's Rescue**

After seeing Kazuto wipe the floor with two players, and bring them to the brink of death, Suguha was shocked at the lengths her brother would go to, just to make sure someone he cared for was okay.

"He likes her," Midori cooed softly, which caused Suguha's immediate reaction.

"What did you say?" Suguha asked with a mixture of shock and disgust. Since they had made a habit of coming to visit Kazuto, they both had noticed something going on between 'Kirito' and Asuna.

"Come on Suguha," Midori rolled her eyes as she pointed at the screen. "It is as clear as day! He got that message, and then bolted like a bat out of hell to find her."

"That doesn't necessarily mean he likes her. It could mean that he doesn't want to lose her! They could have a brother and sister relationship!" Suguha cried, causing Midori to roll her eyes even harder as she returned her attention back on the screen, and on it showed Asuna lunge at 'Kirito', pulling him into a deep hug. Midori immediately made it 3rd person view.

They both watched in silence as Kazuto awkwardly sat on the couch, not even daring to put his hands around her.

"Is that a brother sister relationship?" Midori smirked, then 'Kirito' blushed, causing Midori to chuckle softly. "Yeah he likes her."

"Shut up," Sugu huffed in defeat as she pulled out a five and handed it to her mother. "You win this time."

Midori snatched the five, and chuckled once more. "Twenty dollars says she confesses first!" Midori said, making another bet. Suguha smiled brightly, and nodded.

"Deal! Kazuto isn't one to bundle up all his emotions!" Suguha declared as she extended out her hand for her mother to shake. Midori shook her hand, and laughed.

"Then you clearly don't know your brother very well, do you?" Midori mocked, earning a small gasp from Sugu, and proceeded to glare at her mother. They both refocused their attention on the monitor, watching 'Kirito' make his way for the bedroom.

"Well it looks like that is all for today," Midori stood up and stretched, then proceeded to look at her watch. "Come on sweety, let's go home. It's getting late. We can come back Friday," Suguha's mother said.

"But, that's two days away!" Suguha whined.

"We both know Kazuto will be more than fine. I mean, now he has someone to protected. She looked away from her daughter, and focused her gaze on the television. She smiled when she saw Asuna stand over Kirito's bed, before sliding in next to him. "Looks like I am winning," she mocked.

"Wow. Asuna is bold," Suguha admired.

"Yup she is," Midori said placing a hand on Suguha's shoulder. She reached down and grabbed the remote control, before clicking the monitor off. "Let's go." Suguha nodded and they left the hospital room.

(Line Break)

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 3: Valkedor**

 **Location: Hotel Room**

 **Time: 8:25 the following morning**

As Kirito started to wake up, he felt a warm presence in his bed. He slowly opened his eyes, to find his vision completely obscured by brown hair. Highly confused, Kirito carefully brushed the hair out of his eyes, only to find the head of a sleeping Asuna on his chest. He felt her slow breath against his chest, and noticed her hair was sprawled all over his body.

Kirito had no idea of what to do.

' _Should I pretend I am sleeping? Or should I wake her up?_ ' Kirito let out a small sigh, and went to move her off of him, but found that his arms wouldn't move. He realized that he kind of enjoyed this sight.

Kirito smiled slightly, and kept his arm by his side.

A few minutes passed, before Asuna started to stir. Kirito smirked, already knowing the reaction she would give. Asuna let out a small sigh, as she started to lift her body up, only then noticing someone's arm was around her shoulder, holding her in place.

Asuna, let out a small squeal and opened her eyes, only to find that her head was lying on Kirito's chest. Her eyes widened in horror, as she looked up to see his face, sighing in relief, thinking that he was still asleep. Smiling softly, she placed her head back down on his chest.

"Sleep well?" Kirito asked, eyes opened and trained on her.

"Eep!" Asuna let out a faint squeal and jumped up into a sitting position. Asuna, sitting right beside Kirito, avoided eye contact while maintaining a deep blush. "I- I am -s-"

Kirito chuckled a bit as he said, "It's fine Asuna. This isn't the first time," Kirito smirked causing Asuna to blush even deeper. "Now, I should check with Agil. I heard they were gonna raid the field boss today."

"Alright, I'll get ready," Asuna got up and moved over towards the door.

"No, you are staying here. You had an eventful day yesterday," Kirito argued. "Plus, I think we should tell everyone we will not be joining Guilds. So neither of us are approached again."

"Fine," she sighed in defeat, knowing he is right. "But Kirito-kun. You aren't going either. If you go, I go."

Much to her surprise, Kirito nodded his head saying, "Fair enough." He got out of his bed and walked passed Asuna, placing his hand on her head for a brief second before removing it and walking to the kitchen. Asuna froze for a couple of seconds, before snapping out of it, and followed Kirito into the kitchen.

After a quick breakfast, Kirito messaged Agil telling him that him and Asuna weren't going to help with the Field Boss. Kirito hesitated pressing 'Send'. He glanced at Asuna, whom gave him a cold glare, saying ' _Send it or else_ '. Kirito chuckled as he pressed send. He stood up, put any his dirty dishes while Asuna followed suit.

"So do you want to go out and train? Or do you want to go into town and sh-" Kirito clasped his hand over his mouth, eyes widened in realization of what he had just said.

"Did Kirito-kun just offer to go shopping with me?" Asuna mocked, as Kirito facepalmed himself. Asuna only laughed, figuring she owes him for helping her yesterday. "We can go training. Then maybe later we can find a way to announce to everyone that we are solo players."

Asuna made her way to the door, after catching Kirito sigh in relief.

Kirito drew open his menu, and after several taps, he sent Asuna a party invite, shortly after disbanding his current party with Alicia. Asuna accepted, and they continued their way towards the teleporting platform.

"So what floor do you want to train on?" Kirito asked, as he dismissed his menu screen.

"Uhh, Floor 3? If we go to Floor 4, they would expect us to help out, ya know?" Asuna reasoned, as they both stepped onto the teleporting platform. After saying their location, they swiftly teleported to Floor 3…

 **Floor 3: Valkedor**

They both stepped off the makeshift platform, and stepped down on the stone floor. They both looked around, and found a vacant town, but they ignored it. Everyone that had access to his floor was most likely preparing for the field boss. Kirito pointed to the small clearing to their right, and Kirito led the way, as Asuna followed in step.

"How's Alicia?" Asuna said bitterly.

"She's good," Kirito absent mindedly said. "She's just as scared as the rest of us, if that's what you are asking."

"I wasn't, but whatever," Asuna muttered.

"What?" Kirito turned his head, to focus his attention on Asuna. She looked away from him, and stared blankly at the trees and vines that were ahead of them. Kirito shrugged and sighed his head, muttering, "Girls…" to himself.

After another five minutes in an awkward silence, Kirito and Asuna came upon their first monster. Kirito turned to Asuna saying, "How do you-" he was cut off by a flash of silver.

Asuna bolted forwards, drawing her Retaliator, and attacking the Bloodthirsty Orc alone. Catching the monster off guard, Asuna her Shooting Star skill, knocking the monster off its feet. As soon as it hit the ground, Asuna stood over it and stabbed it through the head, causing it to shatter on the spot. Asuna stared at her weapon for a second, before sheathing it at her hip. She turned and looked over at Kirito, who was leaning against a tree, playing with a vine that hung from the tree. He noticed Asuna approach him, and he let the vine swing back to its original position.

"You done?" Kirito joked, being rewarded with a little huff in annoyance, and Asuna turned on her heels and continued further into the swamp. Kirito quickly caught up to her, and for roughly thirty minutes, they took turns slaughtering monsters that they came across.

Kirito killed the orc, and then reeled his weapon backwards. He looked around, and found Asuna staring at her award window. Kirito opened his menu, and did a quick inventory check. ' _Level 32, 23,097 Col, Hm. Not bad.'_ ' He dismissed the menu, and looked over at Asuna.

He sheathed his sword, and look behind Asuna, and spotted a small cave about 40 feet away from them.

Asuna dismissed her menu, and checked her inventory. She noticed her level was 29, and she almost had 20 thousand Col. She thought about what she could do with it, as she dismissed her menu, and looked over at Kirito, who was staring off into the distance, with a empty expression. She looked behind her at where he was staring at, and saw a small cave. She refocused her attention back at Kirito, and walked over to him.

"You wanna go check out that cave," Asuna stated. Normally it would be a question, but she knew Kirito well enough to know what he thought.

"Yup," He said, as he took of in the direction of the cave. Kirito led the way, and when they neared the cave, Kirito activated his Night Vision skill, and looked in the cave. A he did that, he drew his sword, and carefully stalked towards the cave. The cave was very small. Its walls were laced in spider webs, and they were pretty damp. Asuna muttered something like, "Waste of time."

Kirito walked over to the back wall and examined the wall, using both his skill, and the faint glow his vlade gave off. After a few minutes of examining the wall, Asuna came back into the cave saying, "What are you still doing in here Kirito-kun? There is nothing in here but spider webs." Asuna tried to reason with Kirito, but he just ignored her, and spotted a faint glow on the wall. Pulling out one of his throwing knives, he cut away the spider webs that surrounded the faint glow.

Kirito looked at the symbol that seemed to be etched into the caves walls.

Δ

The symbol, which resembled the greek letter Delta, glowed a faint green color. He looked over at Asuna, and saw her eyes widen at what Kirito had just found.

"Asuna step out of the cave," Kirito ordered. He saw her start to protest, but he spoke again before she could say anything. "You don't have to leave the area. But if this opens something, I don't want you to fall into a bottomless pit," Kirito reasoned. Asuna shrugged, and walked over to the entrance, and stood in the large opening. Once she was out of the cave entirely, Kirito nodded his head at her, and looked back at the symbol. He eyed it cautiously, before he gently placed his palm over it. He felt the pattern underneath his hand, and then he gently pushed his hand against the symbol.

At first nothing happened. Kirito back away from the wall. He turned around to look at Asuna, who just shrugged at him. Looking back at the wall, Kirito was somewhat disappointed. He huffed in defeat, but when he turned away from the wall, he felt small vibrations underneath his feet, and then a small slab gave way underneath his feet, and he plummeted down into a sinkhole.

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 4: Icelandis**

 **Location: Icy Cavern**

 **Time: 12:34; Post Field Boss**

The cave shook violently as the Alpha Alpaca was slammed into the wall, courtesy of Agil. Upon impact, the entire raid attacked, while it was disorientated. After a few moments or relentless attacking, the Alpha shattered, and a congratulations notification was displayed in front of all of them.

Agil stood back, and watched as everyone looked at their drops. Agil smiled, but his smile quickly fell, when he pondered the raid as a whole.

Sure they beat the field boss, but the entire battle was sloppy. When they first arrived, the Alpha Alpaca wasn't there. Instead there was a gang of 20 Ice Alpaca's. Everyone split up into their parties, and held their own against them all, but once there was only 10 left, The Alpha entered the stage, followed by another 10 Alpacas.

Alicia hoped Kirito would show up, but alas he was taking care of Asuna, after that whole fiasco yesterday. Alicia was sure everyone hoped Kirito would have appeared out of nowhere and helped out. But they held their own, and suffered only minor wounds. No 'Bleeding Effect', which everyone was pleased about. Alicia walked over to Agil, and stood at his side.

Agil gave her a small smile, then turned to face the group or players. Some players looked around at the walls nervously like they heard something, but Agil didn't notice.

"Good job everyone," Agil praised them. "That was one tough battle, but on the bright side it is now over. Kirito messaged me before the battle, and told me what he thought was best. He said spend the rest of today relaxing, then tomorrow train. He said that this next boss won't be the easiest. But I am confident-" Agil was cut off when a large chunk of the ceiling fell down and exploded, sending shards of ice everywhere. Players who were hit by the stray ice, lose health.

"EVERYONE! EVACUATE!" Alicia screamed as everyone started to bolt of the caves entrance. Agil stood at the entrance, and ushered people out. He made sure he was the last one to exit the cave, making sure no one was left in the cave.

Once everyone was out of the cave, a few moments passed in silence as everyone watched the cave slowly collapse. Everyone looked around at each other, and sighed in relief that everyone made it out of the cave in time.

"That was unexpected…" Someone chided, causing a few players to laugh.

"Okay, let's all just go and rest up. Train tomorrow, then we will have a Boss Raid meeting tomorrow night. Then hopefully raid the following morning. Any questions?" Agil summed up. Once no one spoke up, Agil nodded and walked away, with Alicia in tow.

"Have you heard from our favorite swordsman?" Alicia asked.

"No, just that he and Asuna wouldn't be participating in this field boss raid," Agil said dismissively. Alicia pulled up her friend menu, and looked for Kirito's position. Agil noticed this, and questioned, "What are you doing?"

"Yesterday, he got a message from Asuna saying that she needed help, and then he took off," Alicia said as she tagged Kirito's name. "So I was making sure the- what?"

"What is it?" Agil asked worriedly.

"It says Kirito's location is Unknown… Let me check Asuna's…" She pulled up Asuna's location, and grew worried. "Well they are both aren't dead, but Asuna is in the middle of the swamp on floor 3…"

"Don't worry about them. As long as they both are alive, they will be fine," Agil nonchalantly stated as he waved his hand in a dismissive way. Alicia nodded her head as she said,

"You are are right. But you can't help but worry…"

* * *

 **In-Game**

 **Floor 3: Valkedor**

 **Location: The Cave**

 **Time: 12:30**

Asuna's head snapped around, when she heard the sound of the cave partially collapsing. She saw Kirito's panicked face, then not even a second later, he fell through the cavern's floor. Asuna sprinted, trying to catch him, but ended in failure. She looked down, and saw a faint glow down in the newly formed hole.

"KIRITO-KUN!" Asuna yelled, in the hope he would hear her. She looked to her health bar, and saw Kirito's health dip slightly. It now rested halfway between the Green Zone, and the Yellow Zone.

Asuna sighed in relief, but quickly turned her attention back over to the hole that took Kirito. Looking around, Asuna saw nothing that would be able to help her get Kirito out of the hole.

Kirito landed in a small body of water, that somewhat broke his fall. Kirito groaned loudly, as he fell into the water. He half dragged half swam his way to the shore. Climbing onto the shore, he rolled onto his back. He stared blankly at the ceiling. Looking at where he fell from, he spotted a small ladder that led up the gaping hole. He heard his name being called in the distance, and tried to yell back, but couldn't muster up enough strength to do so. He opened his menu, and tagged Asuna's name and sent her a message saying:

 _Asuna-san, I am fine._

 _I landed in a small body of water, and_

 _It broke my fall. I see a way out, but I going_

 _to explore this cave a little. See ya in a bit._

 _~K_

He pressed send, and took out a health potion, and sucked it back. He groaned as he rolled back onto his stomach and pushed himself to his feet. He looked around, and noticed he was in a large open area, where the body of was in the dead center of the room. He did another once over of the room, and saw torches fill the room. On the other side of the water, Kirito saw a small alcove, where a small door was.

Kirito shrugged to himself, and made his way over to the alcove. Once he was inside the room, he was temporarily blinded by the light that filled the room. He covered his eyes with his arm, and waited for a few seconds, until the light died down. When the light finally calm down, Kirito looked over to where it came from.

On the wall on the opposite wall, a fragment of a sword hung from the wall.

The sword fragment was a shiny silver, that was outlined in a golden trim. Etched on the blade, were symbols that Kirito wasn't familiar with. He slowly made his way into the room, but once he was halfway in the room, he was thrown backwards a few feet, almost as if he had hit a force field of some kind.

Getting back on his feet, he wiped off his ass off, and a notification popped up saying:

'Kings Legacy Quest Needed to Access Area'.

Kirito dismissed the notification after reading it a few times through. Sighing in defeat, he started to leave the area, but before he pulled up the map of the area, and he was met with another message, saying: 'Map Unknown'. Kirito's eyes widened, and he then checked the floor, and it said 'Floor 0'.

Dismissing the menu entirely, Kirito walked away with a confused expression. He took out a teleporting crystal, and tried teleporting out of the cavern, but he was unable to. Kirito sighed loudly, recalling the ladder, he made his way back into the large room, and walked into the body of water. Then he started to make his way to the ladder. He pulled himself up, and continued to ascend the ladder to its top.

Halfway up the cavern, the ladder ended, and all that remained were edges from the rocks. Kirito grasped onto on the rocks, and pulled himself free of the ladder's rungs. Not even a second later, Kirito's hand slipped and he fell back down, and did a back flop into the water. He cursed loudly, and heard it echo throughout the cavern. He pushed himself back to his feet and tried again.

As he climbed, his foot only slipped once, but after what felt like forever, he put his hand on a smooth ledge, and pulled himself up. He collapsed onto the floor, and stared at the ceiling. A gasp was heard, and not even a second later, Asuna was standing over his head.

"Hey," Kirito said as he closed his eyes. Both his mind and his body were tired.

"Hey? That's all I get Kirito-kun?! You have been gone for hours!" Kirito's eyes widened, and he opened his menu, and saw it was '2:51'. Jumping to his feet, he looked over at Asuna.

"I am sorry! I guess time passes differently done there!" Kirito clasped his hands together, in an attempt to apologize. "At least you knew I was alive, and not dead!" He heard Asuna huhh in annoyance, and hearing that gave Kirito hope that he would survive this afterall.

"Alright Kirito-kun. But don't scare me like that!" Asuna smacked him, with worry etched in his voice. Nodding one, Kirito focused his attention back at the gaping hole. "So what did you see down there?"

Kirito stood up, and walked over to the hole. He walked around the hole, and made his way over to the wall. He pressed the symbol that hung over the gaping hole. Then a new slab appeared out of nowhere, and filled the hole which made it look like new.

"Nothing… Nothing much," Kirito said as he turned away from the wall. And brought out a teleporting crystal. "Let's go get some rest." Asuna only nodded her head, and they both teleported back to floor 2…

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

And with that, I am officially back in action!

I am sorry I have been MIA lately, but I have been with good reason. I am going to say this again: I would like everyone out there who read this to check out my Poll that I have had up and running for awhile now. The poll will OFFICIALLY close when the next chapter is put up, so cast your votes if you haven't already!

If you like the Percy Jackson series, check out my other fanficiton: **The Promised Future**. I promise you its worth the read

Now, I would like to clear something up: I never intended to have Asuna be a damsel in distress. She is a bad ass, and I want to do her character justice! I am portraying her as physically strong, but not mentally strong.

Also from here on out: I can not feature every single floor. If I were to, this would take me years to complete. But do not worry, this story is nowhere close to be finished.

If you would like this story to go on for awhile, PLEASE send in ideas! I will credit those who send in ideas! So PM me your ideas!

 **Things to review:**

How are the fight scenes?

How is the story so far?

Which arcs in the anime do you want me to include in this?

Should we save Sachi and the Black Cats?


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